It’s almost here. T20 cricket lovers in India and all over the world are about to witness a showdown of the best talent that is out there today. The 2022 T20 World Cup will be starting today and the cricket betting opportunities will also be abundant after that. Let’s go over the teams and take a look at some betting takeaways.
Group A – Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand
Let’s start off with Group A.
Afghanistan
Prediction: 4th Place
Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran (vc), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Darwish Rasooli, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Farid Ahmad Malik, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Usman Ghani, Salim Safi
Sorry, Afghan friends, it’s not personal. Afghanistan had an average Asia Cup last month and was at the receiving end of Virat Kohli’s 71st international ton. We don’t expect this team to do much in Australia, with all respect to Rashid Khan, arguably the team’s only world-class player. Australian pitches are not spinner-friendly, nor do this team’s batsmen have a demonstrated record against fast bowling.
LCI Betting Tips: Low scores if this team bats first, Rashid Khan will take wickets but won’t be able to top the charts due to the lack of games
Australia
Prediction: 1st Place
Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Pat Cummins (vc), Ashton Agar, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
The Aussies will be looking to defend their title on home soil and it’s safe to consider them to be favourites to make the finals. While David Warner, Aaron Finch, and Glenn Maxwell will do the heavy lifting in the batting department, the bowling lineup is far from impressive. Maxwell and Adam Zampa will need to overperform and take key wickets after the powerplay. Keep an eye on Stoinis as well.
LCI Betting Tips: Australia will look to bat first and reduce the pressure on the bowlers, All of this team’s games should be high-scoring affairs.
England
Prediction: 3rd Place
Squad: Jos Buttler (c, wk), Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, Tymal Mills.
The Brits will travel to Australia without Johnny Bairstow, who suffered a horrific ankle injury a few weeks ago and will be sidelined for months. There are some strong IPL names in this squad, but there is also a lack of experience, which will come into play in crunch time. Assuming the batsmen click, England will have a tough time with the ball. We predict a disappointment for the Brits.
LCI Betting Tips: Looking for surprise losses? We recommend going with England. These games will also probably be low-scoring affairs.
New Zealand
Prediction: 2nd Place
Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Martin Guptill, Lachlan Ferguson, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult, Finn Allen.
The Kiwi’s never had too many flashy names, something that hasn’t changed this time around. But don’t underestimate this organized and professional team. Kane Williamson will have to lead by example and bat deep into every innings, but the team has a decent middle order to avoid collapses. Daryl Mitchell is doubtful for the opening games due to a finger fracture he suffered last month.
LCI Betting Tips: The Kiwis should be able to grind out the wins required to make it out of Group A. Williamson is a strong candidate to win the scoring title.
Group B – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa
Let’s move on to Group B.
Bangladesh
Prediction: 4th Place
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Soumya Sarkar.
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is a decent talent, but the Bangladeshi team is probably the weakest in the tournament and we totally expect it to finish last in Group B. The quality simply isn’t there. Expect double-digit totals from this team, with opposing teams crossing the 200-run mark on a regular basis.
LCI Betting Tips: Bangladesh is expected to play three games and fly back home after some humiliating defeats. That’s the only betting insight here.
India
Prediction: 1st Place
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav, R Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.
Virat Kohli is back in form and this means that India is flying to Australia in a good mood. KL Rahul looks good after a lacklustre Asia Cup and so does Rohit Sharma. Bumrah and Jadeja will be absent due to lingering injuries, something that can become a factor in close games. The bowling is going to be mediocre at best and wizard Yuzi Chahal will have to be at his very best to support the pacers.
LCI Betting Tips: This Indian team is full of veterans that have rounded into good form. Kohli and Rahul can potentially be the top scorers of the tournament.
Pakistan
Prediction: 2nd Place
Squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani.
All eyes will be on Babar Azam after his disastrous outings in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Mohammad Rizwan carried the team to the finals but will need Azam back in form this time. Shaheen Shah Afridi is expected to be back in the lineup after a few months on the sidelines, allowing Pakistan to use the pace of the Australian pitches and put teams into tricky situations.
LCI Betting Tips: Pakistan has the potential to make the finals, but a lot will rest on the shoulders of Babar Azam. Expect low-scoring affairs if Pakistan bowls first.
South Africa
Prediction: 3rd Place
Squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen.
South Africa is a solid team with good batsmen (David Miller, Quinton de Kock) and probably the best pacer in the world – Kagiso Rabada. The problem is the average talent and inconsistency around them. But if the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Manharaj, and Aiden Markram can perform well with no lapses, South Africa can be the dark horse of the tournament. Watch out for the Pakistan game.
LCI Betting Tips: Kagiso Rabada can be the top wicket-taker of the tournament if a victory is secured against Pakistan. Expect a lot of inconsistency from this team.
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