ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Predicted Opening Pair Of Each Team

The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 action has been scheduled to take place this October- November and the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in India has reduced the possibilities of hosting the tournament. Recently, with the BCCI deciding to suspend IPL 2021 at halfway mark, it has brought about a big question mark in the fate of the T20 World Cup too. It is going to be a great risk if the tournament does take place in India.

UAE might be the next best choice which hosted the last season IPL perfectly despite the pandemic situation going around. The teams have started playing a lot more T20s with an eye on the world cup and also to pick up the right set of players in the squad. Here is the predicted opening pair of each team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Predicted Opening Pair Of Each Team:

West Indies- Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis

Lendl Simmons started his international career in 2006 and he is still playing T20 cricket around the world. He was recently recalled by the West Indies management for the T20 matches and is expected to be at the top of the order for West Indies. Chris Gayle has been moved to number three from the opening position and Simmons is a big match player having been part of two T20 world cup winning squads.

Evin Lewis had a fantastic start to his T20 career and has already scored three T20 international centuries. He averages nearly 31 with a scintillating strike rate of 155 in the T20 internationals for West Indies. He generates a lot of power and likes to play his shots. He is an explosive batsman and is very hard to stop when he gets going. He will be the first choice opener for West Indies in the T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka- Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Perera

Danushka Gunathilaka is expected to open for the Sri Lanka team in the ICC T20 world cup and he has been very consistent for Sri Lanka at the top of the order in the limited-overs format. His T20 numbers aren’t that great but still looks like the best candidate for the position with the players available. The elegant left-hander should get the nod ahead of the other young prospects.

Kusal Perera will probably be the first choice opener for Sri Lanka in ICC T20 World Cup and hasn’t played a T20 game so far in 2021. He was recently named the ODI captain for the Sri Lankan team recently and he averages 28 in the T20 internationals with an impressive strike rate of 135.2. He is one of the match-winners on the side and he should take the opening slot.

South Africa- Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma

Quinton De Kock is a fantastic player and is an important member of the South African batting lineup. The elegant left-hander averages 31 in the T20 internationals with a strike rate of 136.6. He is a big match player and relieving him of the captaincy duties might just bring the best out of him. Despite his inconsistent run at recent times, he will be the first choice opener for South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup.

Temba Bavuma is the current skipper of the South African side in the limited-overs format and he has been doing wonders for the country in recent times with his batting prowess. He has played just 8 T20 internationals but averages 35.6 with an impressive strike rate of 133.2. He can be very good at the top and he should open alongside De Kock despite Markram doing well in the previous T20 series.

Pakistan- Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam

Mohammad Rizwan should do the wicketkeeping duties and he has been very consistent at the top of the order too for Pakistan. He is ranked 10th in the ICC T20 rankings for batsmen and has upgraded himself to become an important part of the Pakistan batting lineup in all formats. He provides the much-needed stability and with the big hitters to come, he can anchor the innings too.

Babar Azam is ranked number three in ICC T20 rankings and he has been the best player for Pakistan in all the formats. He has some phenomenal numbers in the format and is a prolific run-scorer in international stages. He is considered to be among the fab five in the present era. He averages nearly 48 in the T20 internationals and should open alongside Mohammad Rizwan in the T20 World Cup.

New Zealand- Martin Guptill and Devon Conway

Martin Guptill has played T20 cricket around the globe and is one of the most underrated cricketers going around. He is 9th in the ICC T20 rankings and has been playing for a long time for New Zealand in the T20s. The 34-year-old averages 32.3 and is close to scoring 3000 runs in T20 internationals which is a great achievement. He should be the first-choice opener for New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup.

There might be a lot of contenders for the opening slot but Devon Conway has been so impressive in the few T20 internationals he has played for New Zealand and he should get the nod. He can do the wicket-keeping duties as well and the elegant left-hander is very consistent at the top. He is fourth in the ICC T20 rankings for batsmen and averages nearly 60 in T20 internationals. He will surely open alongside Guptill in the T20 World Cup.

England- Jason Roy and Jos Buttler

Jason Roy had an excellent 50 over the world cup in 2019 but lost his way after that and he is getting back his old touch in recent times. He played the T20 series against India and got a lot of starts but couldn’t build on to a big score. He is a very dangerous player and can strike the cricket ball very hard. He will be the first-choice opener for England in the ICC T20 World Cup.

Jos Buttler is an excellent player in the T20 format and he brings a different dimension when he bats in the top order. He can play all the shots in the book and his six-hitting capabilities around the ground are a joy to watch. He plays a lot of unorthodox shots that will be very effective in the format and is a match-winner with the bat.  He should take care of the wicket-keeping duties as well and open alongside Jason Roy. He will surely open alongside Roy in the T20 World Cup.

Australia- Aaron Finch and David Warner

Aaron Finch is one of the best T20 players going around in the world right now and he is second-ranked in the ICC T20 rankings for batsmen. He has been captaining the side in the limited-overs matches for Australia and despite his inconsistency off late, his ability to change the match in a very quick time will definitely be a great threat to any of his opponents.

David Warner hasn’t played an international T20 in 2021 but he is a key player in all the formats for Australia and is expected to open alongside Finch at the top. The 34-year-old was seen playing recently in the IPL for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and he averages 31.4 with an excellent strike rate of nearly 140 in the T20 internationals.

India- Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul

Rohit Sharma is going to be the first choice opener for India in all the formats and his performances have been great for the nation in the last two years. He has been consistently piling up runs at the top of the order and is a very dangerous customer to stop when he gets into his zone. He will definitely be one of the openers for the ICC T20 World cup.

This was going to be a toss-up between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli for the opening slot, but the former should get the nod as he has been the best T20 player for India in the last two years. Kohli mentioned after the England T20 series that he might open with Rohit at the top and the experiment came out really well. But Rahul is a seasoned campaigner and has scored heaps of runs in the last two IPL seasons to be left out. He is a match-winner and should open alongside Rohit Sharma in the ICC T20 World Cup.