Early Predictions ForThe T20 World Cup 2024

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be staged in the Caribbean Islands and USA and will feature 20 teams, the most seen in any ICC tournaments so far.

Two years since a brilliant tournament in Australia, the men’s T20 World Cup will bring more challenges with different venues and conditions in the West Indies and some of the new unknown grounds in the USA. The match prediction is going to be a tougher job here with a limited understanding of the match conditions.

The 20 teams are divided into groups of four.

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

Group C: West Indies, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda, PNG

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal

Schedule of T20 World Cup 2024

The tournament commences on June 1, with 41 matches being played across nine different venues in the Caribbean Islands and USA. The final will be played on June 29 in Barbados.

The USA take on Canada in the tournament opener. The rivalry between the two teams is the oldest international sporting rivalry, with the first-ever international sports game being a cricket match between USA and Canada in 1844.

The big match between India and Pakistan will be played on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Interestingly, this temporary stadium is yet to be constructed.

Format of the tournament

The four groups of five teams each will play within the group in the first round of the tournament. The top two sides at the end of the group stage then qualify for the Super Eight phase.

Earlier, this was the Super 12 when the 12 teams were divided into two groups of six each. This was used in 2022 men’s T20 World Cup in Australia but will now be revamped as the Super Eight for the 20-team tournament in the Caribbean and USA.

In the Super Eight phase, the teams will be divided into two groups of four, and the top two teams will progress to the knockout clashes or the two semi-finals. This is then followed by the final in Barbados. The semi-finals will be played in Guyana and Trinidad. Thus, the complete knock-out phase will happen in the Caribbean.

Likely Semi-finalists of T20 World Cup

While there are several strong teams in the competition, the big teams India, Australia, South Africa and England remain strong contenders with New Zealand and Pakistan, finalists in the last two tournaments, posing strong threats. With several big players back in the setup, West Indies will be dark horses to win the title a third time.

England come off a horrible ODI World Cup in India but are much more well-equipped in the shortest format of the game. The dynamic batting line-up puts England in the same bracket as South Africa, another team with an outside chance because of their strong batting group.

As usual, the West Indies would be the dark horses for professional tipsters. West Indies make a great squad with the return of Andre Russell and the availability of star players like Nicholas Pooran and Alzarri Joseph. They will pose a significant threat from Group C, where they must ward off good T20 outfits like Afghanistan and New Zealand.

Australia have excelled across formats recently, mostly because they have a strong core squad in all three formats. The bowling group will again be their strength, and the Aussies are definitely in contention for a semi-final spot, if not the finals.

India appear to be banking on experience for the T20 World Cup with the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. But like Australia, India are contenders because of their strong bowling group led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and a variety of spinners.

Pakistan’s fickle batting aside, they also have a strong bowling line-up although the lack of good spinners could affect their chances in the sluggish wickets expected in the tournament. The same goes against New Zealand, who struggle in key situations with their limited spin options despite possessing a good batting group.

Winner prediction for T20 World Cup

With Pat Cummins turning everything he touches into gold, Australia are the prime candidates to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The Aussies come with three premier quicks and an elite T20 spinner in Adam Zampa.

The batting line-up is bolstered by almost the same group that won the ODI World Cup in India. They will be hard to get past in the knockout stages. It’s Australia, after all. They know how to win the Championships.