The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup runs from June 1 to June 29, and the 2024 champions will be crowned at the Kensington Oval Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados.
England will try to defend their crown and lift the trophy for a record third time. But standing in their way will be 19 other teams, some of whom have won it all in the past and others who will look to leave their mark on the tournament for the first time.
Here are Al Jazeera’s five favourites to lift the silver trophy:
India: Champions in 2007
The glittering array of talent at India’s disposal needs little introduction.
The 2024 tournament could be the last hurrah for captain Rohit Sharma, who has played in all eight editions thus far, and his predecessor Virat Kohli – both of whom will be entrusted with the task of steadying the ship.
Suryakumar Yadav, who has swiftly become an experienced, explosive middle-order batter, will look to brutalise attacks.
Young pretender Yashasvi Jaiswal has been pulling up trees in all formats of the game. If the 22-year-old opener can build on the prolific start to his career, India’s top order will be in formidable shape.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the seam attack, but it’s the spinners that Rohit will turn to as the tournament progresses. The dry surfaces of the Caribbean are set to offer a great deal of assistance to the tweakers, and Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav can be potential game-changers.
India’s only previous T20 World Cup win came at the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007, but they go into this tournament as the top-ranked T20 side in the world.
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England: Champions in 2010 and 2022
All eyes will be on Jofra Archer’s return after years of injury-plagued frustration for the fast bowler. The right-armer bowled England’s Super Over in the 50-over Cricket World Cup final victory against New Zealand in 2019 but missed out on the T20 World Cup triumph in Australia in 2022.
Spinners could play a crucial role for all bowling attacks, and England are blessed with the experienced duo of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali as well as white-ball specialist Liam Livingstone and the upcoming tall left-armer Tom Hartley.
The batting lineup is quite straightforward with Harry Brook, Will Jacks and Phil Salt adding firepower to established big hitters Buttler and Jonny Bairstow.
The third-ranked T20 side will not let go of their title easily.
Australia: Champions in 2021
Australia will look to pick up where they left off when it came to world titles in 2023. It was the year they lifted the 50-over ICC Cricket World Cup trophy against hosts and favourites India as well as the World Test Championship against the same opposition on the back of retaining the Ashes in England.
Unlike their enviable record in the 50-over version, it took the Australians seven iterations to finally bag the T20 world title in 2021, which they lost to England the following year.
Mitchell Marsh will lead a squad that includes all the World Cup winning names from 2023, barring Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
The mercurial David Warner, having already retired from Test and ODI cricket for Australia, will play his last tournament.
Australia are behind only India in the ICC T20 team rankings.
West Indies: Champions in 2012 and 2016
The West Indies will hope that co-hosting the competition will help them become the first team to capture three titles after winning it under their now legendary captain Daren Sammy in 2012 and 2016.
The men in maroon will bank on their trio of spinners to make the biggest difference for the co-hosts. Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie and Nicholas Pooran will look to take on the mantle from Sunil Narine, who picked up three wickets in the 2016 final.
A late injury to former captain Jason Holder has led to the selection of left-arm seamer Obed McCoy.
The last player standing from both T20 World Cup triumphs is batting powerhouse Andre Russell, who comes into the tournament on the back of a scintillating title-winning run with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2024.
The West Indies will look to throw their sixth-placed ranking out in the ocean and reach the summit in Barbados.
Pakistan: Champions in 2009
At their best and on their day, Pakistan can sow fear into any opponent.
Led by Babar Azam, both as captain and in batting prowess, and Shaheen Shah Afridi with the ball, Pakistan cannot be ruled out as potential winners despite their seventh position in the ICC T20 team rankings.
Their only title came in 2009 when they beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in England. Pakistan lost the preceding final to India in 2007 and the last one to England in 2022.
The depth of Pakistan’s talent will be tested, but Saim Ayub is proving a fine foil for Babar at the top.
Fakhar Zaman has shown flashes of his power hitting in a middle order that also includes Babar’s former prolific opening partner Mohammad Rizwan.
The returning Mohammad Amir remains a deadly threat with his left-arm seam and will hope to form a ruthless pace attack with Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
It’s in the spin department that Pakistan must thrive. Imad Wasim will hope to replicate his recent domestic form on the world stage alongside Shadab Khan, reliable all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and up-and-coming leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Babar and his men may not be the outright favourites, but only a fool would count them out.
