India were the inaugural T20 World Cup champions (2007). Their win sparked a T20 revolution across the globe. BCCI, the parent body of Indian cricket runs the richest cricket league in the world. But India for all its worth India has not had any other world title to their name post that win. They made it to the finals in 2014 and reached the semis in 2016 but couldn’t cross the final hurdle.
The 2021 T20 World Cup presents India with a wonderful opportunity to add a second T20 World Cup title to their name. India to their credit has good enough reasons to believe they can win this tournament.
We look at 5 such reasons why India start outright favourites:
#5 Variety of spinners
The pitches in the UAE have shown signs of wearing down in the IPL itself. Teams that had quality spinners in their ranks came up trumps. India are going with four quality spinners in their squad. Their spin depth is arguably the best in the competition and it has plenty of variety too. They have a left-arm spinner in Ravindra Jadeja. Varun Chakravarthy is arguably the most difficult mystery spinner to get away at the moment. The wrist spin of Rahul Chahar and guile of Ravichandran Ashwin (off-spin) adds brilliant variation to the squad. India can bank on their spinners to hand them a 2nd world title.
#4 Finest top-3
India’s biggest strength in ICC tournaments has been its top-order. India boasts of some of the finest T20I batters in their top-3. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are in all likelihood expected to open the innings with Virat Kohli coming in at number 3. India may also experiment with Ishan Kishan at the top who can tonk the ball from the word go. This assembly line of quality batsmen is rare and unprecedented!
#3 Death bowling quality
Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly the best bowler across formats in world cricket at the moment. He is simply sensational at the death with his pace, skill, and variation. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to partner Bumrah, both with the new ball and at the death.
It will be tough for opponents to go past this deadly duo. Mohammad Shami is a quality replacement for either of the two. Shardul Thakur completes the quartet that makes India arguably the best death bowling team (at least) on paper.
#2 The appointment of MS Dhoni as a mentor
India’s appointment of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as mentor created a huge buzz around cricketing circles. The fans were thrilled with this move as Dhoni remains one of the shrewdest cricketing brains in the world. His experience of having won everything augurs well for the Indian team who are yet to win an ICC title post-2013. Dhoni’s Midas touch is expected to work wonders for the side this time around too.
#1 The presence of X-Factor players
Indian fans can revel in the fact that this current squad has a plethora of match-winners and X-Factor players. Never before did India have the luxury of so many X-Factor players in their lineup. But this around, they have impact players who can make the difference.
The likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Rishabh Pant, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy can change the game in a matter of few minutes. To add to this mix is the presence of impact players like Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul. This is a serious team! It has the potential to create history in the UAE!
