T20 World Cup odds, picks: Predicting who will win cricket’s 2022 T20 World Cup

October 21 update: As the Super 12 stage begins, here’s a look at the updated odds for the 2022 T20 World Cup winner on DraftKings Sportsbook. The most notable jump comes from England, who opened at +330 and is now +275, making them co-favorites with Australia (+275). India is now +330 while South Africa (+700), Pakistan (+800) and New Zealand (+800) have not seen their odds move at all.

The 2022 T20 World Cup begins October 16 in Australia, with the host country looking to make it back-to-back titles. If Australia wins, it’ll be the first time in the history of the competition where a team has won two T20 World Cups in a row. This edition was originally set to be played in 2020, but was pushed back to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s a look at the teams expected to contend for the T20 World Cup title, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

The favorites

Australia (+275)

The hosts enter the competition with no major injuries and one of the toughest lineups in the world. David Warner and Aaron Finch will once again set the stage at the top of the innings, while Glenn Maxwell, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis are expected to line up as finishers. Pat Cummins headlines a deadly bowling attack, which should do well on surfaces built for pacers. World Cup history is against Australia but everything else is in their favor.

The other contenders

England (+330)

England have changed limited overs cricket for the better with their approach since 2015 but the results have been mixed due to the nature of these tournaments. If it wasn’t for a ridiculous tiebreaker, there’s a good chance England’s tactics might not have yielded a single championship. There’s always the possibility this deadly batting lineup falls flat in a knockout game, which ends a tournament run immediately. Jonny Bairstow being hurt is tough but England has enough depth to replace his production. This is a dangerous unit looking to add another title to the trophy case.

India (+340)

Jasprit Bumrah’s injury really takes a lot of the wind out of India’s sails here. Ravindra Jadeja is also out, which means India’s top order has more responsibility in this tournament. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have been in poor form and that’ll need to change. There’s also the issue of the third pace bowler with Bumrah out, especially in Australian conditions. The talent is there, but the planning and execution have been off for India leading up to this competition.

South Africa (+700)

This is the dark horse contender of the field. South Africa had another case of terrible luck when they won four games in the group stage of the last T20 World Cup but failed to make it out of the stage due to net run rate. This group has the batting and pace bowling to do serious damage in Australia, and David Miller’s recent form makes him one of the best finishers in the sport right now. If Rassie van der Dussen was healthy, this team might have been the pick to win it all.

Pakistan and New Zealand (+800)

New Zealand have been knocking on the door of limited overs titles for a few years now and might have missed out on their window. The talent is starting to decline, and there isn’t enough firepower in the middle order to consistently compete with the best teams. Pakistan has arguably the best opening pair in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, along with a great pace bowler in Shaheen Shah Afridi. There’s questions about strategy, especially in the batting lineup but the star power does exist. Of these two teams, Pakistan would be the better longshot candidate to back.

Best bet to win the title: England (+330)

In four limited overs championships since the 2015 World Cup, England have played in two finals and won once. They got bounced in the semifinal round in the 2021 T20 World Cup, which means luck could be on their side again this time around. You have to think the semifinal is essentially a guarantee for England, so backing them to take those next steps this time around is not a huge leap of faith. I’ll take this team, even without Bairstow, to grab the trophy in 2022.