Muttiah Muralitharan: No clear favourite for T20 World Cup
Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan believes that the 2021 T20 World Cup is a wide-open contest.
Muralitharan says that there isn’t a team that has been able to establish themselves as the clear favourites for the tournament.
The spin wizard feels that an extra bit of excitement has been injected intio the World Cup by this uncertainty.
The top five ranked batters ahead of the T20 World Cup
No clear favourite for T20 World Cup
“The most exciting thing about the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is that there are no clear favourites,” Muralitharan wrote in a column for the ICC.
“Coming into the competition in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, it feels like there is no standout side and as a result, any one of a large number of teams could end up lifting the trophy.”
Muralitharan is thrilled that spinners are taking a bigger role in T20 cricket with many now taking the new ball for their national side.
“I’m obviously delighted to see the importance that spinners have taken on in T20 cricket. It is a fast game and is meant to be a batter’s game, but the bowlers have adapted in the 18 years since the format first started in England. Fast bowlers are bowling slow balls and cutters and different balls. Those are the skills you have to develop.
“Initially, most people thought that the spinners would be the victims of T20 cricket and that the batters would go after them. But it is clear now that the slower you bowl, the more difficult it is to hit.
“The spinners have become the most important bowlers and even the quicks now have to bowl slower balls and other deliveries because you want to avoid the ball coming onto the bat as much as possible. The objective is to force the batter to put the effort in to hit the ball and take the risks as a result.
“My experience, both as a player and a coach or mentor in T20 cricket, was that you have to approach it with a defensive mindset, whereas in ODIs or Tests, the aim is to take wickets. Defending is attacking in T20 in my mind, you need to aim to go for 6 or 6.5 runs an over and if you can manage that, you will probably take a couple of wickets as well.”
Powerplay will be the key
Muralitharan feels that getting off to a goo start in the powerplay will be the key to success on the slower surfaces in the UAE.
“The crucial factor will be the first six overs. That is what teams need to focus on, whether they are batting or bowling. I think that 70 to 80 per cent of the game depends on those first six overs and the result comes down to how well you do in that period.
Rashid Khan picks his top five T20 players of all time
“People will look at the latter overs and, of course they are important too, but if you don’t get it right at the start, there is so little time to catch up. It’s not like a one-day game or a Test match, everything comes down to getting a good start. That is part of the reason that I think the World Cup is wide open.”
Latest
-
News
It’s a lot of fun – Heather Knight still enjoying captaining England
Knight succeeded Charlotte Edwards, who had a decade-long stint in the position, in June 2016.
-
England
On this day in 2018: Kevin Pietersen retires from professional cricket
The latter years of the Pietermaritzburg-born maverick’s career were spent on the T20 circuit.
-
England
Jofra Archer snaps off stump on impressive return from injury in India
The 28-year-old took two for 22 in seven overs.
-
County Cricket
Darren Gough steps down as managing director of cricket at Yorkshire
Gough said it was the “right time” to move on having been in the post since December 2021.
-
England
On this day in 2004: Steve Harmison takes seven for 12 against West Indies
The pace bowler produced a devastating spell at Sabina Park 20 years ago.
-
England
Jos Buttler feels refreshed and ready to enjoy ‘best years’ of his career
England’s white-ball team endured a poor 2023 which culminated in the disastrous defence of their World Cup crown in India.
-
England
Jos Buttler confident ‘special cricketer’ Jofra Archer will be fit for World Cup
Archer has not represented his country since last March when he featured in a T20 match in Bangladesh.
-
Indian Premier League
England batter Harry Brook withdraws from IPL following death of his grandmother
Brook pulled out of England’s five-Test tour to India before the squad flew out from their training camp in the United Arab Emirates.