New Delhi: With T20 cricket’s most lucrative tournament — the Indian Premier League — drawing to a close with the Chennai Super Kings’ victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, all the focus will now move a few miles away from Dubai, where the final was played.
The 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins Sunday, and it will be played in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE, and in Muscat, the capital of neighbouring Oman.
Defending champions West Indies, India, Australia, England and the other big guns will wait until 23 October to begin their campaigns in the ‘Super 12’ stage, but before that eight teams will compete in the tournament’s first round to advance to the Super 12.
Three of the eight first-round teams are ICC Full Member nations — Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland — the other five are Associate Members — Scotland, Netherlands, tournament debutants Namibia and Papua New Guinea, and co-hosts Oman.
The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four. While Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia form Group A and will play their matches in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Group B consists of Oman, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and Scotland, and its matches will be played in Muscat.
The top two teams in each group at the end of the first round will progress to the Super 12. India will be facing the Group B winners and the Group A runners-up
Keen followers of the IPL and the India men’s international calendar over the years will be familiar with the achievements and abilities of several of the names listed across these team’s squads.
These include Mustafizur Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien (Ireland), and the South African-born trio of David Wiese (Namibia), Ryan Ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe (both Netherlands).
But several other players are similarly irreplaceable for their respective sides, and remain under the radar in the broader T20 world due to a lack of exposure to fans and the major franchise leagues.
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Essential cogs
Mark Watt (Scotland)
As shown by the last two editions of the IPL, as well as the 2019 Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers, success on UAE pitches in the shortest format is built on piling up scoreboard pressure in the middle overs through effective spinners and slower bowlers.
While Scotland have enough batting and pace bowling options for the powerplay and death overs, the team’s chances of success, when the ball begins to turn, rely squarely on the shoulders of the slow left-arm spinner Mark Watt.
After making his T20 international debut against Ireland in 2015, Edinburgh-born Watt has taken 49 wickets in 39 matches, at an average of 20 and an economy rate of 7.15, making him Scotland’s most successful T20 spinner, and the second-highest wicket taker, behind pace bowling teammate Safyaan Sharif.
The threat of Watt’s nagging left arm spin is further heightened in the UAE, where he has taken nearly half of his career wickets at an average of 15 and economy of 6.16. His performances in Oman amount to seven wickets at an average of 11.75 and economy of 6.75, albeit over just three matches.
Aqib Ilyas & Jatinder Singh (Oman)
Oman took the cricketing world by storm after a stunning last-gasp win over Ireland in the 2016 Men’s T20 World Cup, and the game has only progressed further in the country, in terms of infrastructure and player development in the last five years.
The memorable Malinga-esque pace bowling action of Munis Ansari and the eye-catching power hitting of Amir Ali have made way for slightly more conventional, well-rounded performances under the leadership of allrounder Zeeshan Maqsood, and much will rest on how well the long-standing incumbent openers do.
Ludhiana-born 32-year-old Jatinder Singh played in the 2016 edition and is Oman’s all-time highest run scorer in the shortest format, but has endured a lean run in the warm-up matches for the T20 World Cup.
However, his Sialkot-born opening partner Aqib Ilyas has not only been entrusted with vice-captaincy for the tournament, but he has also put the Sri Lankan, Namibian and Dutch bowling attacks to the sword in the warmups, and provides useful part-time off spin.
Assad Vala (Papua New Guinea)
Papua New Guinea, also known as the Barramundis, were the first of the Associate Nations to qualify for this year’s edition of the T20 World Cup, after a series of consistent and dominant performances in the qualifiers held in the UAE.
The pandemic, however, has arguably hit PNG harder than the other teams competing in this round. They did not play a single T20 international for nearly two years after the qualifiers and lost every single ODI they have played this year.
Furthermore, the Barramundis’ acclaimed Australian head coach Joe Dawes resigned during this hiatus, and was replaced by the Australian-born Italian Carl Sandri, who had previously never coached a senior men’s international side.
While the team’s bowling has largely been serviceable across these defeats, the batting from the top order has mostly been in tatters, save for the team’s captain and talisman Assad Vala, who has led them for over three years.
Regularly tasked with holding together the beleaguered middle-order and anchoring the innings, Vala is PNG’s second-highest run-scorer in T20Is, and third-highest wicket-taker with his right arm off-breaks.
If PNG are to avoid a continuation of their losing streak, Vala must step up and repeatedly play captain’s knocks.
Who’s favourite to qualify?
It’s obvious that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the clear frontrunners to top the groups in the first round, given their sheer talent and international experience.
However, predicting the runners-up in the two groups is more difficult. Group A is likely to see cutthroat competition between Namibia, Ireland and the Netherlands, and it would not be surprising if Net Run Rate plays a major role.
The Irish boast the greatest pedigree in the format over the past decade, with a settled top order led by Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie, in-form pace bowlers as well as all-rounders like Simi Singh providing balance.
The Dutch have the best pace attack in terms of variety and depth, with all of Fred Klaasen, Brandon Glover, Paul van Meekeren and Timm van Der Gugten getting English county cricket game time on a regular basis.
The combined county experience and game management in pressure situations of ten Doeschate (who will retire at the end of 2021) and van der Merwe are also unmatched.
What the Namibians lack in big-tournament experience, they make up for in aggressive power hitting and encouraging results in the last three years, most of which took place prior to the arrival of franchise league journeyman all-rounder David Wiese.
Group B is more straightforward, thanks to the on-field rut Papua New Guinea are stuck in, as well as the great form of Bangladesh’s spinners who recently dominated Australia and New Zealand at home.
Things could come down to the final game of the group between Oman and Scotland, and although Scotland have repeatedly got the better of Oman in their latest matchups this year, the latter’s home advantage could prove decisive.
Considering these match-ups, the group containing India in the ‘Super 12’ stage could likely feature Bangladesh, plus Netherlands or Ireland.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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