Cricket’s T20 World Cup returns in 2024 with a larger field and an unexpected host, helping the game expand beyond its traditional locations. The T20 World Cup 2024 will be co-hosted by the United States and West Indies and will feature 20 teams, a sign the sport is growing in places where it seemingly had lost steam.
The 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five, with every team playing everyone else in the respective group. The top two teams from each group will go to a Super 8 stage, where they will be divided into two groups of four with the same round-robin format as the group stage. The top team teams in each Super 8 group will meet in the semifinal round, with the winners of those semifinals facing off in the final.
Here’s a breakdown of the contenders for the T20 World Cup 2024 title along with our prediction and best bet. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
The favorites
India (+275)
India won the first T20 World Cup back in 2007, but have not been able to do much in this event since then. After a home failure at the 2023 World Cup, this could the last opportunity for the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja to win this trophy. There’s a good mix of youth and experience in the squad, but perhaps this group isn’t as accustomed to the conditions as previous Indian squads. That’s why it’ll be important for them to use the group stage to find the best XI.
Plenty of the younger players in the squads are coming off strong T20 showings in the Indian Premier League, the top franchise league for the format. That’ll help India’s cause, although all-rounder Hardik Pandya will need to recover from his disaster showing as captain of Mumbai Indians. The question will be whether the younger players can rise to the challenge of a World Cup where the margin for error has shrunk a bit.
Australia (+350)
Say what you want about Australia’s “golden generation” stretching from the late 1990s to the late 2000s, but this current group hasn’t done too poorly. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell have been a part of multiple World Cup wins across both formats, so there’s a ton of experience here. Winning the 2023 World Cup in India recently will give this squad a lot of confidence, even if there’s some poor form of late that needs to be overcome.
It’ll be interesting to see how Australia navigates the batting lineup. There’s plenty of finishing power and players with high strike rates, but there’s no true anchor. That can become an issue, especially if players don’t adjust to the conditions well. Cummins is also not the captain of this team, so we’ll see if that changes how the Australians approach this tournament.
England (+450)
England’s squad has gone through a bit of a transition, though this group remains a deadly outfit in the game’s shortest format. After failing in spectacular fashion at the 2023 World Cup, Jos Buttler has been tasked with re-engineering the squad for this competition. England did win the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia, and they did rise from the depths of despair after a miserable 2015 World Cup. Perhaps this team can do the same in 2024.
There’s a lot of power and recent production but also plenty of inexperience on this level. That proved to be a fatal flaw for England at the 2023 World Cup, and it’ll be up to the likes of Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan to mitigate some of that. The return of fast bowler Jofra Archer is huge, especially if he is at 100%. He gives England a true wicket-taking option, and he’ll be playing in familiar grounds for most of this tournament.
The other contenders
South Africa (+650)
There are a few things going for South Africa in this competition, though their history in World Cups has been less than favorable. They just played a series against West Indies, so they’re familiar with the conditions. They have a good pace attack and some impressive firepower in the batting lineup, which means big totals on some of these grounds. However, South Africa will most likely be on the wrong side of a result at the worst time once again. That makes it hard to bet on them.
Pakistan (+800)
It’s easy to forget Pakistan were runners-up at the last T20 World Cup, largely because they don’t feature as prominently in the world’s biggest franchise leagues. This bowling lineup rivals South Africa’s in terms of talent, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan form one of the top opening pairs in the game. Unfortunately, the middle order hasn’t been consistent enough to recover when the openers fail. That is most likely to be Pakistan’s downfall here.
West Indies (+800)
The co-hosts haven’t done much in the last two T20 World Cups, but they’re one of just two countries to win multiple World Cups in the format. That means something, especially since a lot of their players have become renegades and only play T20 cricket across global franchise leagues for most of the year. They’re coming back home, which will also provide a boost. However, there’s simply not enough experience and proven production to make them worth backing to do something historic in home conditions. The wait for a return to glory will likely continue.
New Zealand (+900)
Does the golden generation have one more run? New Zealand rose to the top of cricket from the 2015 World Cup onwards, although the team doesn’t have much to show for it in terms of trophies. There’s a lot of experience here across the lineup, which makes New Zealand a better darkhorse betting option over South Africa and Pakistan. However, this team might not have the true superstar to take it over the top against the likes of England, Australia or India.
Best bet to win the title: Australia (+350)
It should be fairly easy for most of the top contenders to get through the group stage and into the Super 8 round. That’s where the real separation should begin, although Group D with South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could get interesting.
India, Australia, England and New Zealand all feel like strong bets to make the knockout round. I do think New Zealand offer great value at +450 to reach the final, since they’re likely to play in the semifinal given their track record. England have more firepower and will benefit from introducing some younger players into the squad earlier, although that inexperience could backfire in a knockout game. I think India and Australia are the most sound teams at this tournament and that means we’re headed for a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final. You can pick India and Australia as the final matchup at +400.
India stormed through the competition at the 2023 event, largely because they were accustomed to the playing conditions from the jump and were all in great form. That run suddenly ended at the final at the hands of Australia, who had a perfect approach to that game. India have historically struggled in knockout games with this type of format, while Australia tend to rise to the occasion. I’ll back this generation of Aussies to lift yet another trophy.