India’s got talent

Skipper Rohit Sharma will believe India have packed enough firepower into their middle-order to blow away their opponents and end their global title drought at the T20 World Cup. India have dominated the business side of the international game but their financial heft has not been complemented by on-field success as they remain bereft of a global title since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy. They came agonisingly close to ending that barren run twice last year but were outclassed by Australia on both occasions — in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-over World Cup. That India run the IPL, the richest T20 competition, and yet have not won the T20 World Cup since lifting the inaugural edition in 2007 does not sit well with their fans. The selectors have resisted any temptation to overhaul the side though and persisted with the familiar core group that includes Rohit, 37, and Virat Kohli, 35, for potentially their last World Cup appearance.

Triple treat for Marsh’s Australia?

Australia bring an ageing squad and a few players short of fitness to the T20 World Cup but will have the same easy-going confidence that helped secure last year’s Test and ODI world titles. Picking a winner in the short format’s global showpiece is a mug’s game, with at least six of the 20 nations bringing credible claims. No one will be surprised, though, if it’s Mitchell Marsh’s men dancing in ticker-tape after the final in Barbados, with history made as the first nation to hold all three of cricket’s top global trophies. Australia boast world class players from top-to-tail and a champion outfit’s conviction that no matter how bad things get, someone among them will carry the day.

England have tough case for defence

No side have successfully defended the T20 World Cup title and England do not have to go far back in the record books to understand the magnitude of the task facing them. Seven months ago, Jos Buttler’s side set about retaining the 50-over world crown they secured on home soil and endured a miserable tournament in India, winning three out of nine group games to finish seventh in the standings. Buttler, 33, made two centuries for Rajasthan Royals in this year’s Indian Premier League, but England’s recent T20 record is poor. Since beating Pakistan in the 2022 final, they have lost series in Bangladesh and West Indies before drawing 2-2 at home with New Zealand. Ben Stokes, who guided them to victory over Pakistan in the final two years ago, is not in the squad.

Gladiatorial NZ bank on experience and adaptability

New Zealand have long made a virtue of taking each challenge as it comes and while it might not make for much excitement at press conference time, it has not harmed their performances at major tournaments. Masters of tournament craft at least until the business end, the Kane Williamson-led Black Caps have reached the semifinals at four of the eight T20 World Cups and lost the 2021 final to neighbours Australia. The latest editions will present new challenges — an expanded field to 20 teams and a variety of conditions over the disparate venues — but undoubtedly New Zealand will be meticulously prepared. Gary Stead’s squad has a profusion of experience with five players having been around since the 2016 T20 World Cup.

South Africa’s batting power needs bowlers’ backup

South Africa’s power hitters make a compelling case for why they can emerge winners of the T20 World Cup, but whether they have the bowlers to back it up is the big question heading into the tournament. The country’s woes at World Cups, be it the 50-over or shortest format, are well documented and so the expectations back home have been tempered, with supporters scarred by past failures. Within the team there is confidence they can claim a maiden crown, albeit the conditions in New York, where they play their first three group games, are unknown. In captain Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Quinton de Kock and in-form Tristian Stubbs, they have some of the biggest hitters in the game.

Swept by winds of change, Pakistan’s hopes renewed

Pakistan are dangerous opponents for the best of teams in major tournaments but they could face a rocky road in their quest for a first T20 World Cup title since their sole triumph in 2009 after a radical overhaul in recent months. An underwhelming display in the 50-over World Cup in India last year, where the team failed to qualify for the tournament’s knockout stages after losing five of their nine games, led to Babar Azam stepping down as captain in all formats. Pacer Shaheen Afridi was put in charge of the T20 squad but Pakistan were thrashed 4-1 in New Zealand in January, prompting Babar to take the reins again in white-ball cricket, and he led the team to a nervy 2-2 home draw against the same opponents.

West Indies eager to sing out redemption song on home soil

West Indies will be eager to hoist the T20 World Cup for a third time and in the process bury the heartbreak of failing to even qualify for last year’s 50-over World Cup. The glory years of West Indian cricket are long gone as the team that won the first two editions of the 50-over World Cup did not even make the cut for last year’s tournament in India — the first time ever that they had missed the event. West Indies are now looking for redemption under the guidance of Daren Sammy, a coach who knows what it takes to win the global T20 trophy after he captained them to the title in 2012 and 2016. They may no longer be a formidable force, the Rovman Powell-led Windies still have a promising generation coming up.