The much-awaited T20 World Cup will start in October and the final will be played on 14th November in the UAE. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in India but with the fear of the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has been shifted to the UAE. The first round will be held in Oman, where eight teams will battle it out to qualify for the main event. Four out of those eight teams will qualify for the main group stage.
There are two groups of six teams each, and two from each group will be the semi-finalists for the WT20 in 2021. England, Australia, West Indies, and South Africa find themselves in one group with two teams to join them. On the other hand, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are in the other group. Most of the teams are strong, and any team can beat any other team on their day. It is going to be a thrilling WT20 this year and so it would be interesting to see who are the semi-finalists. So let us have a look at the four possible semi-finalists for the WT20 2021.
1. West Indies
West Indies who are the defending champions and the only team to win the WT20 twice will once again be the favourites to defend their title. They have a destructive batting line-up including the likes of Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell. The batting line-up just doesn’t end, as each and every one can clear the fence with utmost ease.
Even though bowling is not their strength, they have a few good bowlers in Hayden Walsh Jr., Dwayne Bravo, and Obed McCoy who have done well recently. They defeated Australia 4-1 in a five-match T20I series, and they surely look like one of the semi-finalists for the WT20 later this year.
2. England
England who is the No.1 T20I ranked team could be one of the four semi-finalists for the WT20 in October-November. They won the 50 over World Cup in 2019 and have a strong T20 team for the upcoming T20 World Cup. They play an aggressive brand of cricket and if they get going, it is very difficult to stop them.
In the last T20 World Cup, they came very close to winning the trophy, but a Carlos Braithwaite special denied them the trophy. Most of their T20 players have played all around the world in different T20 leagues, and so it won’t be difficult for them to adjust to the conditions. England with an all-around team seems to be a top contender.
3. India
India, with the best T20 league in the world, will always be one of the semi-finalists for the WT20. In the last edition, they made the semis but then lost to the eventual champions, West Indies. India hasn’t lost a T20I series for a while, and they have been playing a good brand of cricket.
India has versatile batsmen who can take on the bowlers as well as rotate the strike when in need. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah coming back together and with Pandya starting to bowl, India will have a good pace attack. Their spinners have been struggling, but if the conditions are in their favor even, they can be dangerous. India will look to end their ICC trophy drought in November in the UAE.
4. New Zealand
If there is one team that has been a consistent performer in ICC trophies, then it is New Zealand. They won the World Test Championship, made the Finals in the 2019 World Cup, and they were the semi-finalists in the 2016 WT20. They have some great T20 bowlers in Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson. Trent Boult is a dangerous powerplay bowler.
Even in the batting department, they have Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson in the top order, along with Devon Conway and Colin De Grandhomme in the middle-order. New Zealand will always put up a fight, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they are one of the semi-finalists in the 2021 WT20.
