T20 World Cup Preview with David Shortte & Shaun Marsh

Posted on May 30, 2024May 30, 2024 | Posted by David Shortte

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the ninth edition of the tournament and will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States.

The tournament has teams from 20 countries represented and will stretch across 55 games.

There are four groups and first and second from each group progress to the Super Eight stage of the tournament with the top four from that phase of the tournament heading to the semi-finals and then eventually the Final.

The Groups are as follows:

Group A

Canada

India

Ireland

Pakistan

USA

Group B

Australia

England

Namibia

Oman

Scotland

Group C

Afghanistan

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Uganda

West Indies

Group D

Bangladesh

Nepal

Netherlands

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Shaun Marsh and David Shortte give a detailed look at how they rate the prospects of each side in the TABtouch T20 World Cup Preview Podcast – listen to the podcast in full below:

SOS and Shortte agree that after their recent hot run in big tournaments that Australia look the team to beat at $4.25.

Marsh has predicted a South Africa v Australia final with the Aussies to prevail.

Shaun’s players to watch in the tournament from a most runs perspective are Virat Kohli, Travis Head, Jos Buttler and his brother Mitch Marsh while from a Most Wickets perspective he rates Starc, Bumrah, Jadeja and Zampa as the bowlers to watch out for.

Throughout the podcast Shaun and Shortte give their most likely top runscorer and wicket taker for all 20 teams and have a deep dive in to what the Aussie lineup may look like for the majority of the month of June as well as discussing what the Bison is likely to bring to the table in his Captaincy role.

Shortte’s Key Play Analysis

Top Tournament Runscorer: Virat Kohli ($4) / Jos Buttler ($8) / Mitch Marsh ($15) / Heinrich Klaasen ($15)

Virat Kohli (India)

The King was at his brilliant best throughout the IPL for RCB winning the orange cap for the most runs in the tournament with 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and strike rate of 154.69. It is as well as I have seen him bat for some time and he will enter this T20 World Cup full of confidence. Don’t love the $4 price for him to be leading run scorer but he is the logical favourite and the main play.

Jos Buttler (England)

Buttler left the IPL early to fine tune the T20 World Cup preparations with England but he showed prior to leaving that he is in good nick. 359 runs in 11 innings at an average of just under 40 with two crucial hundreds for Rajasthan let us know he is set for a prosperous tournament. On Saturday night in one of his final innings in the buildup to the tournament he plundered the Pakistan attack all over Birmingham with 84 runs off just 51 balls with 3 sixes and 8 boundaries in a Man Of the Match performance.

Mitch Marsh (Australia)

Mitch managed just 4 games at the start of the IPL before suffering some hamstring issues. He has since flown home and his rehab has been a success. He gets the opportunity to lead his nation as Captain in this tournament and I believe this is a role that will bring the best out in him. He is an incredibly destructive batsman when at his top and if he finds that here he can score heavily quickly. Well worth a speck at the price available.

Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa)

This guy is a rare talent who can change a game in a heartbeat. He was phenomenal in the SA20 scoring 447 runs (2^nd most in the tournament) off just 215 balls in 13 innings at a Strike Rate of 207.90! He has backed that up with 479 runs in 15 innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL at an average of 39.91 and strike rate of 171.07. Exactly where he bats is key – because he is such a good finisher they sometimes use him in that role but given exposure to enough balls this fella can pile on the runs.

There are traditionally a pile of markets on T20 World Cup matches focussing on hitters of maximums – I have gone through and outlined some of the key players in the World Cup that have been involved in the IPL over the last 6 weeks and been clearing the ropes with regularity.

Most 6’s in the IPL (Big Hitters)

Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa) 38

Virat Kohli (India) 38

Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) 36

Travis Head (Australia) 32

Jake Fraser McGurk (Travelling Reserve for Australia) 28

Shivam Dube (India) 28

Tristan Stubbs (South Africa) 26

Rishabh Pant (India) 25

Phil Salt (England) 24

Sanju Samson (India) 24

Rohit Sharma (India) 23

Will Jacks (England) 18

Andre Russell (West Indies) 16

Marcus Stoinis (Australia) 16

Most Tournament Wickets: Bumrah ($8) / Chahal ($9) / Starc ($15) / Russell ($51)

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Another stunning IPL with 20 wickets in 13 matches. Proven wicket taker in big tournaments regardless of the conditions and his ability to consistently hit the block hole in crucial overs is what puts him in rare air.

Yuzvendra Chahal (India)

Leg spinner who gives the ball a real rip. 18 wickets in 15 games through the IPL and while he can be a bit expensive has a knack of taking big wickets. Likely to relish the conditions.

Mitchell Starc (Australia)

Has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous white ball bowlers on the planet and his performances in the finals of the IPL in the games that mattered most are reminders of just how good he is. With any hint of swing at any of these venues could run riot.

Andre Russell (West Indies)

The West Indian veteran is coming off an incredibly successful IPL campaign for the title winners the Kolkatta Knight Riders where he took 19 wickets in just 29.2 overs leaving him with the best strike rate of any bowler to take 10 or more wickets. Knows the conditions very well in the Caribbean and at $51 has to be worth a small speck.

Other key players on my radar for tournament betting are:

Pakistan

Most Runs: Babar Azam & Mohammed Rizwan

Most Wickets: Shaheen Shah Afridi

Sri Lanka

Most Wickets: Matheesha Pathirana

West Indies

Most Runs: Nicholas Pooran

Most Wickets: A Joseph & A Russell

South Africa

Most Runs: Heinrich Klaasen

Ireland

Most Runs: Paul Stirling

New Zealand

Most Runs: Devon Conway / Kane Williamson

Most Wickets: Trent Boult

Bangladesh

Most Wickets: Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan

Most Runs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran

Most Wickets: Rashid Khan

England

Most Runs: Jos Buttler

India

Most Wickets: Jasprit Bumrah

Most Runs: Virat Kohli

Australia

Most Wickets: Mitchell Starc & Adam Zampa

Most Runs: Travis Head & Mitch Marsh

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