T20 World Cup : The Road
As the Test World Championship has ended , the cricketing world has now set it’s eyes on the next big trophy on their way : The ICC World T20 World Cup 2021 . Originally meant to be held in Australia ( in 2020 ) it then shifted to the Indian subcontinent for 2021 before finally being finalised to be held in the neutral grounds of the United Arab Emirates .
The event starts on the 17th October , and the people who keep in touch with the news of the cricketing world know that it is right after the IPL ends on 15th of October in the UAE . There have been many complaints regarding this calendar , the foremost being raised about the conditions of the pitch . Since UAE has very few competitive grounds , many experts worry that these pitches will wear off during the course of the IPL’S back to back games , leaving no time to recuperate for the month long premier event . They want the IPL to be postponed , and justifiably so , for the world cup should take precedence . The second reason is fear of burnout for players ( especially for the Indian side ) and the lack of time for team practice before their respective first games . But it is highly unlikely for the IPL to be postponed yet again , especially since it has already been stopped abruptly once , and there are financial concerns and opportunities that the BCCI is considering upon .
The tournament is split into 2 parts . The first 6 days , or the qualifiers , are being played by 8 teams to determine 4 underdogs who will take part ( with the top 8 teams in the world ) in the main event , also called the Super 12 . Surprisingly stalwarts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh did not make the top 8 cut and have to play in the qualifiers , but rest assured it is very unlikely they will not qualify . As for the other two spots it is a close call especially since these teams are getting better as time passes and closing the gap between the big nations , but if I were a betting man I would put my money on Ireland and Scotland , especially since they have had improvements in their overall rosters .
Moving onto the main event or the Super 12 . The first thing many fans have noticed is that India and Pakistan are in the same group , which means the heated rivalry will continue in this ICC trophy too . While India does have positive record against Pakistan in ICC tournaments , it will be prudent to remember the beating India received in the 2017 Champions trophy finals . Not to ignore the massive victory Pakistan achieved yesterday against England . New Zealand too is in the same group as India , who will be raring to take revenge against Black Caps for the aforementioned Test Championship defeat . On the other side lies the classic rivalry of Australia and England , adding to them are South Africa and T20 favourites West Indies . Whichever team qualifies to this group ( from the qualifiers ) has their work cut out for them , as each one of them has the potential to click and stomp through the whole tournament . My favourites to win this year are West Indies and India, with a potential dark horse in Pakistan , who always seem to be underestimated , especially given their illustrious history and their talented players.
On a more personal front in India , they are currently facing two different countries on two different continents. While the test contingent is prepping for a series against ( and in ) England , Today is the day a limited overs side led by Shikhar Dhawan will start a series against Sri Lanka . The latter might seem boring as a depleted India faces Sri Lanka , it is also an opportunity to impress . As the T20 sides have not been finalised for the tournament , this series is where youngsters and new players will try their best to impress the Indian selectors to cement their place in the T20 side , especially since a repeat opportunity might not come again , and definitely not in the near future . Talents to watch out for are Prithvi Shaw , Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav , Devdutt Padikal and Krishnappa Gowtham .
We all hope that this tournament will be an enjoyable , irrespective of who wins , and I genuinely believe we will see some great games of cricket going ahead .