The World Cup of Cricket has always been one of the most prestigious competitions in all of sports, and the World Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, just like its ODI and Test counterparts, is no different. It will be an intense battle between the world’s best teams to determine who is truly the best in this format of the game. Will it be India, or maybe England? Will South Africa be able to repeat their title from 2010?
1) Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has played in two World Cups thus far, in 2003 and 2011. In both of these tournaments, they made it to at least the quarter finals. In 2015, they were knocked out at Group Stage. Sri Lanka will be hoping to advance to Quarter Finals once again in 2023 by being placed in a pool with Pakistan and Australia along with qualifying games against West Indies and Ireland.
2) Pakistan
Pakistan haven’t won a major tournament since 2009 and with teams like India, England, South Africa and Australia getting stronger by each passing day, they don’t seem to be in a great position. However, their batting lineup is still some of the most feared in world cricket and if they manage to squeeze into quarter-finals with their strong bowling lineup, they could go on to win it all. They are our top pick for 2021.
3) West Indies
The West Indies cricket team represents a sporting confederation of 15 mostly English-speaking Caribbean countries and territories. They have won all three previous editions of the ICC T20 World Cup, but with many of their stars now in retirement, we’re not sure if they can repeat that performance. However, a lot depends on how much work Darren Sammy will put into inspiring his side after his recent resignation as captain. In our opinion, he is still one of their best players and needs to be back at his best to help them win another title.
4) South Africa
Though South Africa has a team that’s arguably as strong as any in the world, they haven’t won a tournament since 2009. Their lineup is stocked with cricketers from all around the globe, but hasn’t been able to put everything together for one tournament. With batting and bowling power that puts most other teams to shame, it would be unwise to count them out. They have one of the best players in cricket history on their roster—AB de Villiers—who will likely retire after next year’s event. If he can help lead his country to victory, he could go down as an all-time great.
5) New Zealand
The Black Caps will have a new look to their bowling lineup after losing several of their fast bowlers over the last few years. While they will be missing fast bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee, they still have one of the best pace attacks in Mustafizur Rahman, Matt Henry, and Lockie Ferguson. Their batting looks rock solid with Martin Guptill being joined by Kane Williamson at #3. Ross Taylor’s presence down at #4 is also key as he is likely to score a lot of runs during crunch situations. This team has all bases covered and should make it far into the tournament.
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