The Men’s T20 World Cup kicks off on Sunday morning and we are set for a massive month of cricket in the United States and Caribbean! Can Australia become the first team to hold all three major ICC trophies at once? Check out our tournament preview below.
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Preview & Betting Tips
Format
The 2024 T20 World Cup has had a big change in tournament format in comparison to the last tournament in 2022. 20 teams will play in the tournament, split up into four groups with five teams each, with the top two from each group qualifying for the Super Eight stage. In the Super Eight stage the eight teams will be split into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group making the Semi Finals.
Uganda, Canada, Papua New Guinea and Nepal will make their first appearance in the main stage of the tournament. Zimbabwe were the only Test playing nation that failed to qualify in the expanded tournament, after finishing below Namibia and Uganda in the Africa Qualifier.
Venues
The tournament will be split between the United States and the Caribbean, as cricket embarks into the US for the first time in an ICC tournament. New York, Dallas and Lauderhill are host cities in the US, while Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago will host games in the Caribbean.
All knock out games will be played in the Caribbean which leaves much interest in what the conditions will be like. After a record breaking run fest in the IPL, all the rage in T20 cricket is about high scoring, however the conditions in the Caribbean will provide vastly different games than what most players have prepared in. Pitches will be low and slow, and there will be spin on offer, while changes of pace though the middle overs will be effective given the grip in the surface.
For the games in the United States, they will be using drop in pitches from Australia, meaning there will likely be very little on offer for bowlers, so these games are more likely to be dominated by batsmen.
Contenders
India
Squad: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Despite consistently coming up short in ICC tournaments over the last thirteen years, India come into the tournament as favourites. Rohit’s Sharma’s side will be desperate to antone for losing the unloseable final in last year’s 50 over World Cup at home. India have a full strength squad to pick from, even leaving out Shubman Gill, who has been one of the best white ball batters in the world over the past three years. India play all of their group stage games in the US, so they won’t get anytime to adjust to conditions in the Caribbean before the Super Eight stages, however they are arguably the best suited nation outside of the West Indies to succeed in these conditions.
Australia
Squad: Mitch Marsh, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia head to the Caribbean with plenty of confidence, with a squad featuring plenty of players who played in the T20 World Cup victory in 2021 and last year's ODI World Cup victory in India. Nathan Ellis and Tim David are the only players who have not been in a ICC tournament winning squad, although Ellis was a travelling reserve in 2021. Australia were thoroughly disappointing in the 2022 T20 World Cup, as the hosts failed to qualify for the Semi Finals. Australia have been conscious to pick a more T20 skilled eleven when it comes to their batting over the last two years, however their bowling attack of Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can be one dimensional if they all play together.
England
Squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
England come into the tournament as reigning champions, although under a mountain of pressure given the dramatic failure of their ODI World Cup campaign last year. England have been an outstanding side in white ball cricket over the past five years, but they showed they could potentially be at the end of an area last year. England still possess one of the most powerful batting lineups in the world with Butler, Salt, Jacks, Bairstow and Brook. The big question around England will be their bowling attack, however they have had a big boost with Jofra Archer returning to international cricket for the first time in over a year.
South Africa
Squad: Aiden Markram, Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs
Perennial chokers is what South Africa have been known as in ICC tournaments, however the Proteas have shown they are one of the best white ball sides in the world over the past two years. They possess one of the best batting units in the tournament with Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock all ranked in the top 20 T20I batters. When you add Heinrich Klaasen who has been the best middle order batter in white ball cricket over the last two years, as well as David Miller, it makes a scary proposition for opposing bowling attacks.
West Indies
Squad: Rovman Powell, Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
T20 cricket is the host’s bread and butter, and with plenty of their best players making themselves available, the West Indies will be one of the most dangerous teams at the tournament. The Windies have power that opponents will envy with Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell. Their knowledge of the unique conditions will be a big advantage, however how far they go will come down to how well their spinners play. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie are incredibly tough to face at home, and they have been a huge factor behind the West Indies winning nine of their last twelve T20 internationals at home, with series wins over India, England and South Africa in that period.
Prediction
The time is now for India, they’ve failed time and time again in big games during ICC tournaments, however they are always featuring at the pointy end. India are the number one ranked team in T20I’s and have had their entire players battle hardened by playing against elite talent in the IPL over the last two months. They’ve got the best balance with bat and ball, and the conditions in both the US and Caribbean will suit them well. This will likely be the last chance at winning an ICC tournament for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, so expect a desperate Indian side looking to atone for last year's failure.
