ICC T20 world cup is finally happening from October 18 in UAE after being inordinately delayed due to the Covid19 pandemic. Cricket fans all over the world are excited and eagerly waiting to watch their favorite cricket players in action. The T20 world cup schedule has been announced and speculations are rife about the team combinations and selection of players for the world cup tournament.
Listed below are the finishers of the top eight teams ahead of the ICC T20 world cup 2021 tournament:
Pakistan
Pakistan squad needs to work on its middle-order batting as it is short of big hitters in this segment. Its top-order has some aggressive hitters like Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan but they seem to struggle with finishers and that is a huge concern for the team. Pakistan’s performance in the world cup is comparatively below par and its middle-order batsmen must perform well and score quick runs in crunch moments to win the crucial matches. The Pakistan team will pin its hopes on the finishers who can deliver down the order to finish off things.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh cricket squad is in high spirits after having won the T20I series against Australia as this is their first-ever bilateral series victory over the Aussies. They outplayed Australians in most of the matches but their batsmen struggled to build partnerships. That is a matter of concern as they need to find a few finishers for the side as well to compete well in the upcoming ICC T20 world cup in UAE.
Mahmudullah is regarded as a finisher down the order in ODIs and T20Is and he has steered the Bangladesh team to victory on many occasions. He brings with him vast experience of 97 T20Is and will have a huge responsibility on his shoulders to hit those big shots when needed. The presence of Afif Hossian in the batting line-up provides stability to the team and Mehidy Hasan is another aggressive hitter in the lower order of the team. These players need to give some powerful performances to help the team win crucial matches.
South Africa
South African batsman David Miller has been a big hitter in the T20 format and the team banks on him to get the job done. Over the years he has established himself well in the T20 arena with his intense batting and his scorecard gives you a fair idea about the impact that he has on the game. Miller is the strongest batsman in the South African squad and has been instrumental for the side in the latter half of the South African batting. Miller has proved his mettle in the T20 format, playing 89 innings for South Africa in T20 championships and scoring 1716 runs with a strike rate of 140.43
Miller builds on his innings by improvising according to the situation and can be a good finisher on a given day in T20 tournaments. In the recent series against Ireland, Miller’s unbeaten 36 off 17 put the finishing touches on South Africa’s innings as they won the series 3-0. Rassie van der Dussen is another finisher South Africa can bank upon in T20 format as he has controlled the innings for the team on quite a few occasions during the recent T20I series. Other aggressive middle-order batsmen in the South African squad include Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, and Kagiso Rabada who possess the ability to ply impactful innings by hitting fast-paced boundaries in limited-overs cricket.
India
India’s batting lineup has a lot of depth as the team has quite a few aggressive middle-order batsmen who can change the complexion of the game quickly with their big hits. Finishers like Ravindra Jadeja can come to the rescue when the situation goes out of hand with his powerful strokes. His batting has evolved and he can produce some match-winning performances down the order. Another batsman who can take up the role of a reliable finisher is Rishabh Pant who has been in excellent form lately. He can pull off a match in a matter of a few overs with his improvised T20 shots. Hardik Pandya is also a force to reckon with and cannot be taken for granted. He can make life difficult for the opponents with his aggressive batting and Team India will have a lot of hopes pinned on him in the upcoming ICC T20 world cup 2021 in UAE.
