T20 World Cup countdown: Windies, England start as overwhelming favourites

Bangladesh’s unceremonious, late withdrawal from the T20 World Cup not only paved a way for Scotland’s entry into Group C but has also eased the West Indies and England’s paths to the Super Eights.

As the only two Full Member nations in the reckoning, West Indies and England are the overwhelming favourites. The other teams in the group are Nepal and debutant Italy.

England’s 4-1 drubbing at the hands of India last January forced the 2022 champion to embrace the high-octane template of the format.

Under Harry Brook’s charge, England has scored at 11.39 runs per over in the PowerPlay since April 2025, outdoing even India and Australia, who started this trend of throwing caution to the wind.

Key man

Phil Salt has been a lynchpin in this approach with a strike rate in excess of 172, and an average of 43.

Veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who will most probably take his final bow at this World Cup, is still England’s most prolific bowler. He’s nabbed 23 wickets since the last World Cup at an economy of just 8.47.

The outlook is not as promising for the Caribbean outfit. Only one Full Member team — Ireland — has fared worse than West Indies in this World Cup cycle. The Caribbean side has won just 13 of its 40 games since July 2024.

Romario Shepherd is the undisputed match-winner for the two-time former champion, and has chipped in with both the bat and ball — 35 wickets and 442 runs — since July 2024. West Indies can also rely on Akeal Hosein, whose inventive change-ups have been a revelation for the art of slow left-arm orthodox bowling. Mixing up his deliveries, Hosain has 35 wickets since July 2024 at an economy of under seven. However, the problems outweigh the silver linings.

A run rate of less than eight-an over in the PowerPlay since July 2024 does not paint a promising picture. Shai Hope has been the most prolific batter at No. 3, but could do with speeding up his accumulation of runs (137). Shimron Hetmyer, meanwhile, has a healthy strike rate of (176.79) but inconsistency and limited volume (320 runs at 22.85) have blunted his impact.

Another predicament awaiting the West Indies is finding a spinner to strike in tandem with Hosein. Its pace unit, other than Jason Holder, is still inexperienced and Alzarri Joseph not making the cut due to injury only adds to its woes.

Nepal on the prowl

Playing catch up at the World Cup can be a risk-laden proposition for the West Indies, especially with Nepal, which almost defeated South Africa last time, in the fray. It will be on the prowl again, hoping that a giant-killing would finally convince world cricket of how close it is to the upper echelon.

Italy, meanwhile, will also fancy its chances of going back with a win. It had defeated Scotland by 12 runs in the European qualifiers, and the two have been pitted together again.

It prepared for the World Cup with a three-match series against Ireland, and got a taste of how life without Joe Burns would look like. The former Australia batter had been central through the qualifiers, but will not feature at the World Cup due to a contractual dispute.