The highly anticiapated Men's T20 World Cup finally gets underway this Saturday night, with the Aussies kicking off proceedings against South Africa from 9.00pm!
We'll have a full preview and betting tips for every Australian game throughout the competition, however, today I'll be taking a look at the tournament on the whole, and providing some of my best future tips below!
Remember to check out Cricket Tips page for regular updates throughout the ICC T20 World Cup!
2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Betting Tips
Title
Best Bets
While we are still waiting on the final four spots in the Super 12 to be decided, the outcome of the qualifying tournament isn't going to affect my picks for the title. In my opinion, it's largely a two horse race for the T20 World Cup this year, with maybe one or two dark horses thrown into the mix.
India are the first on my list. They seem to have taken T20 cricket to another level over the last few years, with the evolving IPL serving as the main catalyst for their rise to the No.2 spot on the T20 world rankings. They are without doubt the deepest squad in the tournament, with proven international stars such as Kohli, Jadeja, Sharma and Pant being flanked by some of the most exciting IPL heroes in the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul and Varun Chakravarthy.
England is the No.1 ranked T20 team in the world for a reason. They have taken the approach of largely separating red and white ball cricket over the last few years, with only their most important players like Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler blending the line. Their problem at the moment, and the readon I have them just behind India in my tips, is the form of skipper Eoin Morgan. Morgan scored just 41 runs in nine IPL innings this season, at a very alarming average of just 6.8. I don't know how you can be expected to carry a player in that form and win an international tournament.
Dark Horse
How can you look past the only multiple time winner of the T20 Wold Cup and the defending champions? The West Indies come into this tournament as the 9th ranked T20 team in the world, but we all know that those rankings don't mean much considering the bulk of the West Indies squad often opts to play the domestic T20 circuit instead of playing for their country. When you your squad boasts T20 juggernauts in the likes of Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Andre Russel, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, you are capable of winning every time you walk onto the field.
Squads & Player Props
Afghanistan
Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq.
Top Afghanistan Wicket Taker: Rashid Khan ($2.10 at Sportsbet)
Top Afghanistan Run Scorer: Hazratullah Zazai ($4.00 at Sportsbet)
Australia
Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (VC), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Traveling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams
Top Australia Wicket Taker: Adam Zampa ($7.00 at Sportsbet)
Top Australia Run Scorer: Glenn Maxwell ($5.50 at Sportsbet)
England
Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Top England Wicket Taker: Abdil Rashid ($3.75 at Sportsbet)
Top England Run Scorer: Dawid Malan ($6.00 at Sportsbet)
India
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami
Top India Wicket Taker: Jasprit Bumrah ($2.75 at Sportsbet)
Top India Run Scorer: KL Rahul ($3.75 at Sportsbet)
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
Top New Zealand Wicket Taker: Kyle Jamieson ($5.00 at Sportsbet)
Top New Zealand Run Scorer: Kane Williamson ($3.50 at Sportsbet)
Pakistan
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik.
Top Pakistan Wicket Taker: Shaheen Afridi ($2.75 at Sportsbet)
Top Pakistan Run Scorer: Babar Azam ($2.63 at Sportsbet)
South Africa
Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, W Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen; Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams
Top South Africa Wicket Taker: Anrich Nortje ($3.50 at Sportsbet)
Top South Africa Run Scorer: Quinton de Kock ($2.88 at Sportsbet)
West Indies
Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jnr
Top West Indies Wicket Taker: Hayden Walsh ($7.00 at Sportsbet)
Top West Indies Run Scorer: Chris Gayle ($5.50 at Sportsbet)
Teams vying for the final four spots in the Super 12 include Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia, Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman.
