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T20 World Cup promises thrills and upsets- the contenders, and the players to watch

T20 World Cup promises thrills and upsets- the contenders, and the players to watch
KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 17:Noor Ahmad Lakanwal of Afghanistan during the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup match between South Africa and Afghanistan at Diamond Oval on January 17, 2020 in Kimberley, South Africa. (Photo by Louis Botha/Gallo Images)
Keanan Hemmonsbey
By Keanan Hemmonsbey
2 Jun 2024
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There are more than eight teams that could realistically win the T20 World Cup.

The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which starts on 2 June, looks to be the most competitive yet and several countries are in with a realistic chance of lifting the trophy at the end of the month.

The stage is also set for a few shock results, with 20 countries competing at a T20 World Cup for the first time. The number of teams varied between eight and 12 in previous editions. The likes of Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Canada will make their debuts.

It’s part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plan to grow the game globally and why the US are co-hosts alongside the West Indies.

The US will host 16 matches, all at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island, New York.

America’s World Cup squad has a splash of South African in it, with former SA under-19 wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous and former Free State bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk in the team.

Former Black Caps all-rounder Corey Anderson is also among the US’s players.

Challengers


Co-hosts West Indies, despite being two-time champions, failed to qualify for the main stage of the previous T20 World Cup in Australia after being felled by Ireland and Scotland in the qualification stage.

Despite a late injury to former skipper Jason Holder, which has ruled him out of the tournament, the 2012 and 2016 winners look a serious threat as the tournament approaches. Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell are three of the most electrifying T20 cricketers in the world at the moment.

England are the reigning champions but will be without Ben Stokes, the hero of the 2022 final, since he has chosen to prioritise red-ball cricket. They do, however, have fast bowler Jofra Archer in their armoury for the first time in nearly two years.

Australia, as the most successful team at ICC tournaments, can never be written off. If they do manage to win the T20 World Cup, they will have every ICC trophy there is, in men’s and women’s cricket.

India were the inaugural winners of the T20 World Cup in 2007, when the tournament was hosted in South Africa. They went on to win the 50-over ICC World Cup four years later.

Since then, despite their financial dominance growing, they have failed to win another trophy. They will be desperate to correct that in North America.

Players to watch


T20 World Cup Tristan Stubbs of South Africa during the T20 International match between against India at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on 12 December 2023. (Photo: Richard Huggard / Gallo Images)


Tristan Stubbs (South Africa)


Stubbs is relatively inexperienced on the international stage, having only played 17 T20 Internationals for South Africa so far. But the 23-year-old has had an extraordinary run in the format this year. The exciting youngster scored 301 runs at an average of more than 60 in the SA20 and 378 runs at an average of 54 in the Indian Premier League (IPL), striking in excess of 160 in both.

Stubbs had his first taste of a T20 World Cup at the previous edition in Australia in 2022, but he failed to make any real impact, scoring 31 runs in four innings.

T20 World Cup Travis Head of Australia plays a shot during the Cricket World Cup final against India at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 19 November 2023. (Photo: Isuru Sameera Peiris / Gallo Images)


Travis Head (Australia)


In a player-of-the-match contribution at last year’s 50-over World Cup final in India, against the hosts, Head struck a chanceless 137 off 120 balls to lead his country to victory with the willow.

A few months before that he clubbed 163 in the first innings of the final of the World Test Championship against India and was again named player of the match.

Even though Head is less experienced in the shortest format, internationally at least, for him to go big when it matters most for Australia should not be a surprise at the T20 World Cup, especially considering the form he has going into the tournament.

Head scored 567 runs in 15 innings in the IPL at an eye-catching strike rate of 192.

T20 World Cup Jasprit Bumrah of India celebrates after dismissing Glenn Phillips of New Zealand during their Cricket World Cup semifinal at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 15 November 2023. (Photo: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images)


Jasprit Bumrah (India)


Bumrah has developed into one of the best fast bowlers of this generation.

His unorthodox action and deceptive pace make it difficult for batters to pick the ball up out of his hand.

The 30-year-old has a scarcely believable international T20 economy rate of 6.55.

Not only is Bumrah difficult to get off the square, but he also strikes regularly – at an average of 19.66 – making him the perfect T20 bowler.

He was the third-highest wicket taker in the IPL, playing in a struggling Mumbai Indians team, with 20 scalps in 13 matches. His economy rate was 6.55 in the tournament, better than anyone else in the top 75 wicket takers list.

Gudakesh Motie of West Indies celebrates getting the wicket of Phil Salt of England during their fifth T20 International at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, on 21 December 2023. (Photo: Ashley Allen / Getty Images)


Gudakesh Motie (West Indies)


One of West Indies’ greatest spin bowlers to date, Sunil Narine, retired from international cricket in 2019.

The host nation has been forced to look elsewhere for a quality spin option and up stepped 29-year-old Motie.

The left-arm has only played eight international T20s for his country, but he looks right at home.

He spun South Africa’s batters in a web in their recent tour to the Caribbean, picking up eight wickets in three matches and hovering around the six runs per over mark.

With the Windies loaded with X factor players with both bat and ball, a calm and steady cricketer such as Motie is the perfect foil for the team to excel.

Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan)


Afghanistan’s ability to dig up world-class spin bowlers has struck gold again in the form of Ahmad.

Ahmad, who is only 19, has already represented 13 different T20 franchises across the world, exhibiting his demand in the shortest format.

Noor Ahmad of Afghanistan bowls during their U19 World Cup match against South Africa at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on 17 January 2020. (Photo: Louis Botha / Gallo Images)



His left-arm wrist spin has proven uncomfortable to play for batters because of how quickly he bowls the ball through the air, as well as his ability to turn the ball both ways.

Ahmad represented Durban’s Super Giants in six matches in the SA20 at the start of the year and finished with the second-lowest economy rate of 5.82 while picking up 12 scalps.

Captain Rashid Khan remains Afghanistan’s primary spin bowler, but the two of them operating in tandem could spell danger for opposition batters at the T20 World Cup. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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