Weaknesses of Top 5 Teams: ICC T20 World Cup is around the corner every team is buckling up for the extravaganza tournament held in Australia this October. Warmup matches are been played teams are replacing their injured player with the best fit.
In this, we will look into the weakness of the Top teams playing in the tournament. Teams on the list are India, Australia, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
Weaknesses of Top 5 Teams
Australia Weaknesses
The defending champions will play the tournament in their own backyard and their experience of winning the matches will be a vital role for them. In this tournament, Australia is tough to defeat in this format. The squad has all the elements for the perfect team and has almost no weaknesses.
Captaincy
Even though Aron Finch led the team from 2021 to the win and there are a lot of factors that are involved to achieve the target. There is too much reliance on the team than planning as it can affect performance. The games won seem to be on the luck of the player’s performance.
Australia has claimed their sixth Men’s World Cup across the two formats, the most by any team after their win against the team which is already in the top 5 list. They lifted the 2021 ICC T20 WC which took place in Dubai.
Death bowling issues:
The team overall looks perfect, but the team relies on the two of the pacers and all-rounders Marsh and Stoinis. If they are recovering from an injury, will they perform or not will be a question. In an addition, Ashton Agar is also added to partner with Adam Zampa to maintain the turns in the pitch. When we look at the numbers of these bowlers in from 2018-2022 matches played in Australia
| Bowler | Matches | Wickets | Economy |
| Ashton Agar | 22 | 13 | 5.34 |
| Adam Zampa | 21 | 25 | 6.60 |
Australia has too many options and also it needs to be channelized in a proper manner.
Pakistan Weaknesses
Pakistan has a good starter and bowlers that end the game with a great impact in the death overs but the middle order is still a concern for Pakistan.
Bowling And Middle Order:
The evident weakness lies in fast bowling and the middle-order.
The middle-order is very talented and also has a lot of potential but they lack experience. Pakistan does not have anchors in the team. Openers take the match or throw it as seen in the last few matches. Who is taking the match on their shoulders Keeping that in mind the PCB has drafted Shan Masood?
Shan Masood’s statistics reflect a lack of experience. He has played 10 matches d scored 201 runs at an average of 25.
Fast bowling includes Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Shahnawaz Dahani. The team must be hoping for Shaheen to be back in time. In the absence of Shaheen, this attack lacks a name that can scare the opposition by mere presence.
Pakistan has the habit of spoiling its party. This can be in the shot selection of the players. If Pakistan sticks to the basics and does not try something extra, they will not be tackling the contenders like India and England.
England Weaknesses
The 2010 T20 World Cup was won by England. With this victory, England became the first Non-Asian team to win the T20 World Cup. England defeated Ashes rival Australia by 7 wickets in the final. The English team had lost their first game to the West Indies, but they went on to win all of their subsequent games and capture the trophy. When we talk about ICC T20 2022 England has some weaknesses to be talked about:
Fragile Batting
The team will be without ace all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has opted for an indefinite break citing mental health. Stokes has been one of their primary run-scorers in the last three years with 1060 runs at an average of almost 45.
Top orders:
England’s top-order has also been very fragile, England’s policy of packing their side with players who contribute in all three facets of the game has continued under Buttler’s leadership.
Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, David Willey and Liam Livingstone are all players who can make a mark with both the bat and the ball. While Stokes, Curran, and Ali are genuine all-rounders, the rest are also more than capable of contributing to one aspect of the game, while being a specialist in the other.
Death overs:
The death overs look like a point of concern. The team does have players like Chris Jordan who are T20 specialists and are meant to bowl those tricky overs but has Jordan delivered on the big stage in the past?
Chris Jordan has played 4 T20 matches on Australian pitches. There took 3 wickets at an economy of 8.71
Also, with many options on the table, does Jordan make it to the playing 11 England also has a question of whether it wants to go in with Adil Rashid or are overs from Living Stone and Moeen Ali enough.?
Injuries
Injuries are a big concern for England. Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes were all injured in the recent past and so was Mark Wood. Jofra Archer is still out due to injury. Jonny Bairstow is also out.
England has not selected their leading opener Jason Roy in the team for T20 World Cup. Roy continues to flop with the bat. In the hundred he scored 51 runs in 6 matches. Three times he could not have opened the account. Earlier, he had failed in the series against South Africa and India.
India Weaknesses
Despite a poor showing in the Asia Cup 2022, India has won every T20I bilateral series they have played in 2022. They have a massive advantage in terms of winning momentum over every other team entering the World Cup. This will boost the team’s confidence.
Death bowling is a concern
India has repeatedly failed to perform well as a bowling unit. They try to limit runs in the beginning and middle of the innings, but their death bowling is too bad to ignore. If there is a chase, the team gives up runs so quickly that the entire burden falls on batters. The team must devise a solution to this problem or they will perish. Bumrah is out of the tournament due to an injury. Death bowling is a concern where there is no perfect replacement for that.
Fielding
From being one of the best fielding teams a few years ago to now losing matches because of dropped catches. The team’s fielding standards have significantly deteriorated. Aside from Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, no fielder appears to be dependable. The youngsters must improve their body language.
India will not always be victorious.
Overconfidence has the disadvantage of causing people to relax. These defeats serve as a reminder for us to improve in the majority of ICC competitions where India has struggled to establish itself as the undisputed hegemon of the cricketing world. We are successful in winning as many bilateral series as possible, but we must recognize that the World Cup is called the largest competition for a reason, and success there proves a point.
New Zealand Weaknesses
Captaincy
Kane Williamson’s form for New Zealand may be a source of concern for last year’s finalists, as the star batter and captain has been seen under pressure while batting in recent games. And he needs to brace himself before the big event. Such as Aron Finch is also dependent on the team’s lucky performance and talents in the team.
The absence of a finisher
One of the most obvious weaknesses for the New Zealand team is the lack of a finisher. Michael Bracewell has recently taken the cricket world by storm. The 2022 T20 World Cup will be his first opportunity to face some of the better bowlers he has faced thus far. The left-hander has a 206-strike rate but has only played 5 games in his career.
Jimmy Neesham has played a lot of games for the Kiwis, but the 32-year-old hasn’t gotten a regular spot in the team. In addition, Neesham hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup.
Derailed by injuries
The injuries that the Kiwis’ players have sustained are their only threat. Milne and Ferguson have both missed at least one calendar year due to injuries. The duo who can hit 150 km/h have been plagued by niggles, and even Kane Williamson has missed a significant amount of cricket this year due to injuries. Another problem of abundance; Williamson may fail to field the right combination with the plethora of talent at his disposal.
Team New Zealand is in a difficult group with Australia, England, and Afghanistan, with two more teams joining after the qualifiers. And their only chance to balance their side remains in the tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh at home right before the mega event.
That was all about the weakness of the Top 5 contenders in the ICC T20 World Cup. Also, comment your thoughts.
