Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has identified India and Australia as the two strongest teams in the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be held in the United States and the West Indies from June 2nd. Ganguly, who led India to victory in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, believes that the two finalists from last year’s ODI World Cup will once again be the teams to beat in this shorter format.
India and Australia are both ranked among the top three teams in the ICC T20I rankings, and they have both been in good form in recent months. India won the Asia Cup in September 2022, while Australia won the T20 World Cup in November 2022.
Ganguly expects India and Australia to dominate the tournament as they did in the 50-over World Cup last year. “India and Australia the two best teams of the tournament,” Ganguly said. “I’m sure they will do the same thing in the USA and the West Indies.”
The T20 World Cup will be played in four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super Eight phase. India is in Group A with co-hosts USA, arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, and Canada. Australia is in Group B with defending champions England, Namibia, Scotland, and Oman.
The Super Eight onwards the tournament will be held in the Caribbean countries. The knockout semi-finals and final will be played in St. Lucia and Barbados, respectively.
India will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5th in Philadelphia. Australia will begin their title defense against England on June 11th in Perth.
Ganguly also commented on the Indian squad for the World Cup, saying that it is a “fabulous squad” with all the players being match winners. He believes that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will pick the best team for the tournament.
One player who did not find a place in the 15-member Indian side is Rinku Singh. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said it was one of the toughest calls that the committee had to make. Ganguly feels the 26-year-old, who boasts of a 176-plus strike rate in 15 T20Is and plays the role of a finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, may have missed out as India wanted to go with an “extra spinner” keeping in mind the spinning tracks in the West Indies.
