T20 WORLD CUP 2021: PAKISTAN TO SOUTH AFRICA, ANALYSING CHANCES OF THE FOUR DARK HORSES

In captain Babar Azam, they have one of the finest batters of the current era. If he gets going, Azam can single-handedly win games for Pakistan. Mohammad Rizwan has been highly impressive in recent times...

- RENIN WILBEN

The 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup is all set to be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14. The ICC event begins immediately after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, which is also being held in the UAE. The IPL 2021 final will be played on October 15 in Dubai. The T20 World Cup will start with Round 1, which will see eight teams, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, battle it out for four Super 12 spots. The top eight teams automatically qualified for the Super 12s. They are India, Pakistan, Australia, England, West Indies, Afghanistan, South Africa and New Zealand. In the feature, we profile four dark horses of the T20 World Cup.

1. PAKISTAN

Yes, Pakistan are no longer as strong as they used to be till the era of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. They have been among the weak sides in international cricket in recent years and haven’t been able to build on their 2017 Champions Trophy win. Too much chopping and changing have proved to be detrimental to their white-ball fortunes. Still, you can never write Pakistan off.