The latest edition of the T20 World Cup begins in October in Australia, where the hosts are the defending champions, following their defeat over neighbors New Zealand for the trophy last year.
It will be the eighth renewal of the international tournament and there will be 16 teams bidding to come out on top. Here is a look at the leading contenders.
India
India are the highest-ranked team in the ICC T20 world rankings, so it is perhaps no surprise that they are the +275 favorites, according to outright markets courtesy of Space Casino, to win the tournament in Australia.
The inaugural winners back in 2007 have underperformed in the T20 World Cup in recent years, however, they have a wealth of talent at their disposal for this next campaign, which gives them a great chance of putting that record straight.
It is a new era in the T20 format of the game for India. Viral Kohli stepped down as captain at the end of the last World Cup and Rohit Sharma is now in charge of the team. Sharma has a wealth of experience, and he can lead his side by example with the bat, which is promising.
The 2022 IPL will be the chance for many of the Indian players to catch the selectors’ eyes ahead of the squad being announced for the 2022 T20 World Cup. There is a lot of healthy competition for places, so whoever travels to Australia will have earned their place on the plane.
Australia
Only one nation in history has managed to win the T20 World Cup more than once: the West Indies were successful in 2012 and 2016. Although the stats are against them, the defending champions will have home advantage this year.
Australia were impressive in the knockout stages of the tournament in 2021. They chased down 176 with one over to spare in the semi-final against Pakistan. In the final against New Zealand, they once again batted second, reaching their winning score of 173 after losing just two wickets.
The same bulk of players are likely to be selected again by the 2021 winners. David Warner was the second-highest scorer at the tournament, behind only Babar Azam. In the most wickets standings, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazelwood featured in the top five.
Australia are currently priced as the second-favorites at +330 in the betting markets and will be expected to reach the latter stages, at the very least.
England
Directly behind the leaders, India, in the ICC T20 rankings is England. They are within touching distance of the top spot and victory in Australia would most likely see them climb up to the number one position.
England have lost their way a little in Test cricket over the last 12 months, but they remain a very solid team with the white ball. Their biggest strength is their openers and they are able to score runs very quickly, which often puts them in a strong position for big innings.
The 2010 winners were beaten by New Zealand in the semi-final last year. Undoubtedly, they will be desperate to go one game better on this occasion and have some success Down Under, making up for a disappointing Ashes tour. They are presently priced at odds of +400 in the outright market for the tournament.
This year’s T20 World Cup begins on October 16th, with the final set to take place on November 13th.