Many teams are already gearing up for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in India, a place which has often been a challenge for teams Asia outside, even the best of them.
The last tournament, which was held in Bangladesh in 2014, was won by Sri Lanka, who beat their sub-continental neighbours India to clinch the trophy.
Eighteen months down the line, a lot of shifting and sorting has taken place in the team squads and rankings.
Sri Lanka currently hold the top position at 126 points and again enter the competition as one of favourites to replicate their performance of 2014. Pakistan and Australia lie close at hand with five0 and eight-point margins separating them from the pole position.
Home team India would certainly not be in high spirits after humiliatingly losing their home-series encounter against the Proteas.
Though there are many more internationals to be played before the World Cup unfolds, it would not be difficult to sort out the most balanced teams, going by their respective form and squad.
Sri Lanka will certainly miss the experience of their long-standing duo Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and they are yet to sort out their opening combo with Chaturanga de Silva and Kusal Perera fighting for the opening slot with Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Their middle order is yet to be tested and has been quite unexposed. Dinesh Chandimal and vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne will have to take much of the responsibility. Their spin-bowling line-up, barring Sachithra Senanayake and Rangana Herath, is rather naïve and yet to be sorted out if Sri Lanka are to field three spinners for a game.
It is perhaps only the sub-continental conditions that give them an edge.
Pakistan will be riding high on confidence after the T20 series triumph in Sri Lanka which they miraculously won, against odds, 2-0. Shahid Afridi will be their skipper (unless anything drastic happens) with opener Ahmed Shehzad filling the vice-captain’s shoes.
Their line-up, very much like Sri Lanka, features many new names, though they have retained some of their old guard including the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir and Sarfraz Ahmed.
However they still seem rather unbalanced, and their fast-bowling trio of Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz still hold the key on the Indian pitches.
From the outside the sub-continent, the South African team looks quite well drilled and experienced, having already trounced India 2-0 in India. Faf du Plessis has an impressive track-record of losing just one series after being appointed T20 skipper in 2012.
Their middle order is their only big concern considering the inconsistency of David Miller, Farhaan Behardien and David Wiese. Away from that they have a potent spin-bowling arsenal in Imran Tahir, Simon Harmer and a late newcomer, Eddie Leie. However, a lot will still rest upon their skipper and the flamboyant AB de Villiers.
The next team which can probably make it to the semis and looks far more balanced than perhaps any other team, is Australia.
Aaron Finch’s appointment as the new skipper might just be the crucial decision from an Aussie point-of-view. Australia boast one of the most consistent and experienced opening partnership in Finch and David Warner, with both of them having substantial experience of playing on Indian pitches due to their IPL enrolment.
The middle order looks quite handy with Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and Matthew Wade, while the x-factor for Australia will be James Faulkner due to his handy bowling skills and batting prowess. The Aussie spin department might be inexperienced but Ashton Agar and Cameron Boyce have some experience of playing under the sub-continental conditions.
Though many fancy the MS Dhoni-led India as hot favourites going into next-year’s T20 World Cup, they have yet to prove a lot to substantiate they have the quality and consistency along with the balance in their line-up.
India have a heavy top three and the middle order is yet to reach its peak, while the seam bowling stocks will be a serious concern for the hosts. They have failed ignominiously in their last few trials, both home and away.
Simply going by stats and current team set-ups, South Africa and Australia, along with T20 specialists Pakistan, might be the top three favourites, with India and Sri Lanka remaining close at their heels.
As for being the most balanced line-up, despite some concerns in their spin department, it has to be the team from Down Under.
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