Ever since T20 was invented, it has been believed that the format belongs to the young. After all, if Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid did not play in the first World T20 event that was held in 2007, then for sure no old player could have accommodated himself in this format of cricket.
However, over time, it is mostly guys with a lot of playing years behind them who have controlled the game’s chaos and speed.The present general perspective is specialists rather than specialists only
TOI looks at the contenders, besides India, for the forthcoming T20 World Cup and their sides which seems like dad’s armies from a distance.
AUSTRALIA
Only Cameron Green is under 25. Three players – Josh Inglis, Tim David and Nathan Ellis – are approaching 30. Its spine revolves around David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell Marcus Stoinis and Mathew Wade who are all on wrong side of 30. The most important here is that Mitchell Marsh at 32 gets captaincy ahead of Pat Cummins aged 31 who captained Australia to victory in the last year World championships Test series and ODI tournaments. This means a change from reputation to fresh blood.
This team has stayed together for four years and won world titles across formats. The Aussies collapsed on home soil in recent ICC Men’s T20 WC but still they are a class apart.
ENGLAND
The defending champions — whose uninhibited attacking batting approach became something like blueprint — will enter into the competition with almost similar team that won in Australia in 2022. Continuity isn’t bad for cricket but these same set of cricketers lost their title as one day world champions last November in India too. Again let by Jos Buttler under an aging leadership group consisting Jonny Bairstow Moeen Ali Adil Rashid Mark Wood, this team is packed with cricketers who have got a ton of experience in the format.
It should be noted however that they bear a similar look to their last campaign 19 months ago but the likes of Harry Brook Sam Curran Will Jacks and Jofra Archer are more experienced now.
NEW ZEALAND
It feels as if Kane Williamson has been leading New Zealand into World Cup finals and semifinals for ages. They have always been those outsiders who punch above their weight. Williamson takes with him a core of senior players who are well past their 30s – Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Devon Conway, Michael Bracewell, Mitch Santner and Jimmy Neesham.Their way of winning matches has never changed in most cases. Again, the team isn’t dissimilar to the one that played the semifinals in the last T20 World Cup.
Rachin Ravindra at 24 is under 25 year old is one such player. He has become an international sensation ever since his remarkable performance during ODI WC in ’21. Experienced players like Glenn Phillips and Finn Allen will be hoping that they have enough to get across the line when it comes to white-ball cricket.
PAKISTAN
The team looks similar to the one that Babar Azam captained in the previous edition and finished as finalists. Pakistani cricketers haven’t quite lived up to expectations in T20. They have been trying to put faith in Pakistan Super League performers, which explains why Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim are back. Freshness is brought through
the inclusion of Azam Khan, Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed.
What they have in their favor is having experienced campaigners like Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.
