The Twenty20 World Cup kicks off on Saturday with co-hosts the United States facing Canada in Dallas. The World T20 Championship has been changed to a 20-team format, giving runners-up and lower-ranked nations a chance on the biggest stage while the regular contenders remain in contention for the title.
The tournament, co-hosted by the United States and the Caribbean, features more than 250 players, most of cricket’s biggest stars.
Here are five existing or up-and-coming players to watch.
___
Phil Salt
Age: 27
Team: England
T20 World Cup experience: 2022 (winner)
Summary: Salt caught the eye in his debut T20 series in January 2022. He recorded a strike-rate of 193.54 against the West Indies and repeated the performance when England returned to the Caribbean last December. He scored 185.95 in five T20s, including consecutive hundreds. He will replace Alex Hales at the head of England’s T20 batting line-up, a particularly tough task given that Hales and captain Jos Buttler helped England to the title in 2022.
The win in Australia meant England held the two major limited-overs trophies in world cricket for over a year, a situation that ended last year when Australia beat hosts India in the final, surrendering England the 50-over World Cup title. Judging by his current form, Salt could give England a boost. He played 12 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 Indian Premier League, scoring 435 runs and helping KKR win their third title.
___
Jasprit Bumrah
Age: 30
Team: India
T20 World Cup experience: 2016 (semi-final), 2021 (second round)
Summary: Since his debut in 2016, Bumrah has become one of the world’s top T20 bowlers. Despite his rapid pace, he has yet to help his country win the coveted title. India last won the T20 World Cup in 2007. He also missed the 2022 edition due to injury.
However, age is still on Bumrah’s side and he brings both form and fitness to the tournament this time around. He took 20 wickets in 12 matches in the recent Indian Premier League season at an average of 16.80 with an economy of 6.48. Bumrah’s bowling prowess in this format has amply proven him to be the most potent pace bowler in international T20s. But he cannot do it alone, as was made clear when Mumbai Indians finished bottom of the IPL.
___
Heinrich Claassen
Age: 32
Team: South Africa
T20 World Cup Experience: 2021 (2nd Round) and 2022 (2nd Round)
Summary: Klaassen’s power hitting puts him at a similar level to India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who is ranked number one in the T20 batting rankings. Rather than official rankings, what makes the two batsmen similar is their unpredictable yet fiery styles. While Yadav is flashy with his shot selection, Klaassen is more orthodox but makes up for it with power.
Klaassen is particularly good against spin, with a strike rate of 158.93, rising to 196.42 against both spin and pace towards the end of his team’s innings. In the 2024 IPL, he proved this by hitting spinners at 181.36. And with spin expected to be key in the second stage of the tournament, Klaassen’s contributions could help South Africa end their World Cup drought.
___
Rachin Rabindra
Age: 24
Team: New Zealand
T20 World Cup experience: None
Summary: The young batsman has taken the 2023 World Cup in the 50-over format by storm. A name that combines two of India’s batting legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, Ravindra scored 578 runs in 10 matches to lead New Zealand to the semi-finals. On his World Cup debut, he scored a hundred against defending champions England and looked composed under pressure.
He is also a handy left-arm spinner who will help balance New Zealand’s playing XI in India and will again be valuable in the shorter formats in the Caribbean.
Ravindra gained more T20 experience with Chennai Super Kings in the recent IPL, scoring 222 runs at a strike-rate of 160.86 and the Black Caps will be hoping to repeat that at the World Cup.
___
Nicholas Poulin
Age: 28
Team: West Indies
T20 World Cup experience: 2021 (second round) and 2022 (first round)
Summary: From the Indian Premier League to the Big Bash, SA20 to ILT20, The Hundred, PSL, UAE T10, Bangladesh Premier League and of course the Caribbean Premier League, Pooran is now West Indies’ greatest T20 export. He has taken over the position from the likes of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo and established himself in franchise leagues across the world.
Pooran has been in good form in T20 cricket for several months, leading MI Emirates to the ILT20 title in February and batting well for Lucknow Supergiants in IPL 2024. He will be the main batsman for the West Indies in the T20 World Cup on home soil, with the Caribbean team hoping to make up for their first-round T20 exit in 2022 and missing out on a place in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
___
AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
