The 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup kicks off this weekend with a flurry of matches as nations fight for Super 12 qualification.
Before You Bet will have you covered with plenty of previews and betting tips throughout the tournament, but before then let’s have a look at the bigger picture and predict who will win it all!
Remember to check out Cricket Tips page for regular updates throughout the ICC T20 World Cup!
2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Preview & Betting Tips
Title Best Bet
The bookies have narrowed the competition down to three clear favourites for this year’s title – Australia, England and India – and it’s hard to disagree with that.
Australia, the hosts of the 2022 World Cup, have set themselves up for a big tournament with a solid run of recent form in the T20 format. Wins resulted from home series’ against Zimbabwe, New Zealand and the West Indies over the last couple of months, and the Aussies still put in a strong showing against India in a 2-1 away series defeat. Home conditions will bolster Australia’s hopes and they have ample experience in the likes of Aaron Finch, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins. As such, it’s hard to tip against them.
Of the visiting nations, I fancy India as the best team to challenge Australia. India has not lost a T20 series since last year, beating South Africa, Australia, West Indies, England, Ireland, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in that time. Such an impressive run of results has given them the title of the #1 ranked T20 team in the world. The only question mark I have over India is how they will perform in Australian conditions. Nevertheless, with the most talented squad in the tournament and an enviable form line, expect them to be there at the pointy end.
England are the second ranked team in the world and my third seed for this World Cup. Despite having some serious batting weaponry, England have lost three of their last four T20 series, so unless they can manufacture a hot streak of form at this tournament, they are unlikely to go all the way.
Title Dark Horse
South Africa have shown some solid T20 form in 2022, beating England and Ireland in between closely fought contests with India. Australian conditions are most similar to those in South Africa, so these underdogs shouldn’t take long to acclimatise to the pace and bounce offered by our pitches. Furthermore, South Africa have plenty of batting power to put together winning totals – they have exceeded 200 in two of their last three T20 internationals and regularly surpassed 180 against England and Ireland. Therefore, I’m willing to have a dabble on South Africa as outsiders.
Squads & Player Props
Afghanistan
Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani.
Top Afghanistan Wicket Taker: Rashid Khan ($3 at TAB)
Top Afghanistan Run Scorer: Hazratullah Zazai ($4 at TAB)
Australia
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Top Australia Wicket Taker: Mitchell Starc ($4 at TAB)
Top Australia Run Scorer: David Warner ($2.75 at TAB)
England
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Alex Hales.
Top England Wicket Taker: Mark Wood ($5.50 at TAB)
Top England Run Scorer: Alex Hales ($3 at TAB)
India
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Top India Wicket Taker: Yuzvendra Chahal ($4 at TAB)
Top India Run Scorer: Suryakumar Yadav ($5.50 at TAB)
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Martin Guptill, Lachlan Ferguson, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult, Finn Allen.
Top New Zealand Wicket Taker: Trent Boult ($3.75 at TAB)
Top New Zealand Run Scorer: Devon Conway ($4.50 at TAB)
Pakistan
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir.
Top Pakistan Wicket Taker: Shaheen Afridi ($3.75 at TAB)
Top Pakistan Run Scorer: Babar Azam ($2.75 at TAB)
South Africa
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Top South Africa Wicket Taker: Anrich Nortje ($4 at TAB)
Top South Africa Run Scorer: Quinton de Kock ($3.75 at TAB)
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain, Nasum Ahmed.
Top West Indies Wicket Taker: Taskin Ahmed ($5.50 at TAB)
Top West Indies Run Scorer: Shakib al Hasan ($4 at TAB)
Teams vying for the final four spots in the Super 12 include Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia, West Indies, Scotland, Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates.
