File photo of Saba Karim.© AFP
The 2022 T20 World Cup starts next month in Australia and all the teams are in the final phase of their preparations. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is currently playing against defending T20 World Cup champions Australia in a bilateral series. After a forgettable Asia Cup campaign, where they could not qualify for the final, the series against Australia followed by one against South Africa will be the final two bilateral contests that India play ahead of the T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Pakistan are playing England in a seven-match T20I series. All these teams are heavyweights going into the T20 World Cup.
Former BCCI selector Saba Karim recently gave his take on the ‘favourites’ in the T20 World Cup. He feels that Australia will retain the title this year.
“I think they remain a formidable side and are the favourites. More so because they are playing on Australian soil and the kind of changes, they have brought into the team, reflects that they are in sync with what is required to win such tournaments in Australia,” Saba Karim said on Sports 18.
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“Big ground, so you need some more power hitters, so they bulk up that kind of portion in the side. So, they have Tim David and Glen Maxwell. For instance, in this team, you don’t have Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis, both of them very high in terms of power hitting. So, this kind of combination makes them a very strong side to retain the T20 World Cup again.”
The Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup starts on October 22 with a game between New Zealand and Australia in Sydney. India play their first game against Pakistan on October 23 in Melbourne.
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