India are set to begin their T20 World Cup campaign on October 23 against arch-rivals Pakistan in Australia. They go into the tournament as one of the strongest sides but have recently faced a string of bad performances in the Asia Cup and the first T20I vs Australia, that have dented their chances.
Former wicketkeeper and national selector Saba Karim too feels that India are not the favourites to win the trophy going into the T20 World Cup. He believes that Australia are the favourites to retain their crown on home soil since they have selected a side that are well-suited to Australian conditions.
“I think they remain a formidable side and are the favourites. More so because they are playing on Australian soil and the kind of changes, they have brought into the team, reflects that they are in sync with what is required to win such tournaments in Australia,” Saba Karim said in an interaction on Sports 18
The former wicketkeeper also believes that the abundance of power hitters in the Australia squad will help them in clearing the big boundaries on their home turf.
“Big ground, so you need some more power hitters, so they bulk up that kind of portion in the side. So, they have Tim David and Glen Maxwell. For instance, in this team, you don’t have Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis, both of them very high in terms of power hitting. So, this kind of combination makes them a very strong side to retain the T20 World Cup again,” Karim said.
In the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE, Australia emerged as the unlikely champions as they came into the mega tournament on the back of poor form. Hence, they now go into this edition a much stronger squad.
India and Australia are currently battling it out in a three-match T20I series, which is currently tied 1-1. The result of the final match at Hyderabad will decide which team emerges as the series winners.
