T20 World Cup | Three contenders make Group D the most exciting

For the purists, a World Cup comes only once in four years. It gives the winner adequate time to savour the success while it provides the vanquished enough time to reflect and regroup. Not to be missed is the majestic ring to the words ‘quadrennial extravaganza’.

But T20 cricket is no purists’ delight. And the associated World Cup comes every two years. In fact, the upcoming edition in India and Sri Lanka will be played within 20 months of the previous tournament in the United States and West Indies.

One team that will not be complaining is South Africa. In the 2024 final against India, the Proteas had victory in sight at 151 for four chasing 177, only to go home empty-handed. Catharsis can come quickly in 2026. It helps that South Africa is more pedigreed now, having won the ICC World Test Championship in 2025 and shed the tag of a chronic underachiever.

In terms of personnel, there is no Heinrich Klaasen, but leader Aiden Markram has an equally devastating batter in Dewald Brevis, and superlative cricketers in Quinton de Kock, 36-year-old David Miller — probably playing his last World Cup — and Tristan Stubbs.

In contrast, the bowling seems a tad underwhelming, but Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj are notable names, and they will be desperate to live up to their reputation.

Bad memories

The Kiwis, too, have some bad memories to erase, like their non-qualification out of the group stage in 2024. But they have a capable squad, with fierce top-order hitters in Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, and middle-order musclemen in Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell. Most recently, Allen smashed a 38-ball 80 against India in Thiruvananthapuram while Seifert a 36-ball 62 in Visakhapatnam.

In skipper Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, New Zealand has two spinners who can cash in if the Chepauk wicket retains its traditionally slow nature. But pace department can be a problem. Adam Milne is out while Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are expected to go on paternity leave during the tournament.

The presence of Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan makes Group D the most exciting. The Asian side pipped New Zealand last time around, then beat Bangladesh and Australia to reach the semifinals. A young squad, with enough resources to revel in spin-friendly sub-continental conditions, will hope for a redux.

Afghanistan impressed the cricketing world by reaching the 2024 T20 World Cup semifinals.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

Afghanistan has beaten the West Indies 2-1 in the lead-up, but exited last year’s Asia Cup in the group-stage, a repeat it would like to avoid at the global level.

Canada and UAE will look to be more than just also rans. The former made its T20 World Cup debut in 2024 but won just one match. It breezed through the Americas-region qualifiers in mid-2025 to punch its 2026 ticket, but has played no T20Is since then.

For the United Arab Emirates, it’s a third T20 World Cup. Though it has won just a solitary match from six outings, it has done well in the shortest format in the last one year, as seen in its famous 2-1 series win over Bangladesh in May 2025, and the spirited effort against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.