India look poised to retain the T20 World crown

One interesting development during the run-up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, which started on February 7, was the plethora of bilateral series played between the participating sides in the last lap before the championship.

Thus, we saw New Zealand play five T20 Internationals in India after the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series ended in mid-January. West Indies played Afghanistan in Dubai, then headed to South Africa to take on the hosts in three T20 games. The Australian side travelled to Pakistan to play three T20 matches towards the end of January and early February, while England visited Sri Lanka during the same period to play an identical number of matches. Even Ireland and Italy, respectively the underdogs and the greenhorns, played each other in Dubai before the World Cup.

Incidentally, the only top side to avoid such matches was Bangladesh. By a strange coincidence, they decided to stay away from the championship as well on account of problems the country's controlling authority had with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This issue developed huge political overtones and led to the unpleasant situation of the side not playing in the championship. Scotland was drafted into the tournament as a last-minute substitute in their place.

The purpose of the series played by the participating teams was to enable them, especially for those from outside the Indian sub-continent, to come to terms with the weather and other conditions prevailing here. The only side that stayed away from visiting Asia as part of this preparation was South Africa, presumably because it had already conducted a full-fledged tour to India, including games in all formats, in November-December 2025. The teams would also have used these games to iron out any outstanding issues regarding the composition of the playing eleven and to help the cricketers get into the top groove.

Observers are unanimous that India starts as the outright favourite to retain the title. The side has a settled look about it, and all top players are in good nick. The only worry lines are those created by injuries to Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana. Washington has not yet recovered from an injury to the muscles below his rib cage that he suffered during the series against New Zealand. Harshit, on the other hand, picked up a niggle during the warm-up game against South Africa and has since been replaced by Mohamed Siraj. Team management is waiting to see whether Washington recovers in time to take part in the championship and has not sought any replacements.

The good news is the recovery of Tilak Verma, who was in such exquisite touch before the injury that he even snatched the coveted No 3 slot in the batting order from skipper Suryakumar Yadav (SKY). Skipper himself is back amongst the runs, which lifts a huge load off his shoulders. This should also help to quieten those critics who even suggested that some technical defects had crept into SKY’s batting technique. Ishan Kishen used the opportunities he got during the games against the Kiwis to reclaim his spot at the top of the order as the partner of Abhishek Sharma. Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube also scored heavily in the series against New Zealand, giving the team management plenty of options to play around with once the championship starts. The bowling line-up, led by Jasprit Bumrah, looks very well balanced and raring to go. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel form the ideal combination of pace and spin bowling all-rounders who complement each other perfectly.

The major disappointment during the series against New Zealand was Sanju Samson's poor form. Though he was the first choice of the selectors for the opening batsman- wicket keeper slot in the playing eleven, Sanju lost his way, scoring only 46 runs in the five appearances against the Kiwis. Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, scored heavily in this series and thus appears to have edged out Sanju for a place in the playing eleven. It must have been galling for Sanju to fare poorly in front of his home crowd at Thiruvananthapuram, while Ishan struck a brilliant century off only 43 balls and lit up the stands with his dazzling stroke play.

The matches played by the other sides in the run-up to the championship threw up surprising results. Pakistan easily drubbed Australia 3-0 while South Africa blasted West Indies by a similar margin. England got the better of Sri Lanka in a rain-ruined series, with most games decided by the Duckworth-Lewis (DL) method. In the series held in Dubai, Afghanistan beat the West Indies 2-1. Though the World Cup matches are a different cup of tea altogether, these games give one an idea of the current form of the players on various sides.

Given the nature of the championship and the version of the game, which is tailor-made for upsets and surprises, any four out of the top nine teams are capable of reaching the last four stage. Hence, it is hazardous to gaze at the crystal ball and attempt a prediction as to which side will play better than another on any given day. However, it is accepted that part of the charm of the game lies in the anticipation of the contest and the innumerable possibilities that can arise within it. Hence, one is inclined to accept the risk of failure and gamble on the sides most likely to make it to the last four stages.

On current form, one expects India and South Africa to sail into the semifinals. The Proteas had a good tour of India a couple of months ago and are thus familiar with the conditions. Besides, most of their top players are regulars in IPL and hence know the pitches and ground like the back of their hands. Further, this side has blossomed in recent years, and they managed to remove the tag of "chokers" from around their necks, following their victory in the finals of the World Test Championship at Lord's in June 2025. The side had come agonisingly close to winning the trophy in 2024, and they would be all too eager to wipe away those bitter memories.

Australia and England are placed second and third, respectively, in the ICC World T20 rankings. However, Australia has sent a side where big names such as Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood and Steven Smith are conspicuous by their absence. Hence, the side led by Stuart Marsh appears low on experience. England, on the other hand, has all the big names in its ranks, but is going through a turbulent phase. It will be interesting to see how the side fares under the leadership of Harry Brook, who has the promise of becoming the leader in all formats for his team.

Pakistan comes to the championship with a heavy baggage of problems off the field, which has led to a threat to boycott the group game against India on February 15. But they have played the most T20 matches since the last edition of this championship (47) and have won 27 of them. The team had gone through a major churn, altering team compositions, changing captains, chopping coaches, and the support contingent, before finally arriving at a combination that appears fighting fit. They managed to give India a scare in the Asia Cup final in September 2025 before going down. Though their batting appears fragile and they are a mercurial lot, the side possesses the traits that qualify them to become the proverbial "dark horse" in this championship.

New Zealand, like South Africa, has never won this championship and must be looking forward to changing this unhappy statistical nugget. However, they suffer from the absence of big names with adequate experience of playing in this format in India, which will be a major handicap. West Indies, on the other hand, had won the title twice, the last occasion being 10 years ago in India. They must be hoping to do a repeat, but the side seems to be a bit short on firepower with the willow. Sri Lanka is presently going through a bad phase, as seen from their poor run in the home series against England. Afghanistan is a popular side and has some exciting players; it will be interesting to see whether they can come out of tough situations with aplomb on the big stage.

Four weeks remain between now and the finals. I am willing to place my bets on India retaining the trophy, and my wager on the side best equipped to stop the "rajasooya" march of the Indian stallion is South Africa. Let us now wait and see how the story unfolds in the days ahead.

Best wishes to SKY and his boys as they embark on their mission to retain the title!