Wisden’s predicted T20 World Cup starting XIs for the 16 teams competing at this year’s tournament.

Group A

Australia

Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Australia’s toughest selection dilemma is in their middle-order, with Steve Smith struggling to bat with enough pace to keep up with the rest in the number three spot. Mitchell Marsh had an excellent T20 World Cup last year and Tim David has laid claim to the role of innings finisher, meaning there may be no place for Smith in the XI. Glenn Maxwell is struggling for form having scored just 16 runs in his last five T20Is, however he provides an extra option with the ball and if he finds form he has the potential to be seriously destructive – it is unlikely Australia will leave him out.

England

Jos Buttler (c) (wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood,

Harry Brook burst into England’s first choice XI with a fantastic series against Pakistan. England will have players short of T20 game time in their XI, with Ben Stokes back in the squad having not played a T20I since March last year and Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan both back from injury. England’s toughest decision is how to fit Livingstone back into the side when he returns. The simplest solution would be to omit a seamer – Chris Woakes and/or Reece Topley – for Livingstone but that would change the side’s balance, reducing their new ball threat in particular. The other way of incorporating Livingstone is to drop a batter currently in the team, either Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook or Moeen Ali.

New Zealand

Martin Guptill, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Philips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

New Zealand’s biggest concern ahead of travelling to Australia is whether all-rounder Daryl Mitchell will be fit enough to participate. Mitchell fractured his finger in the nets ahead of his side’s first game of the ongoing tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh and is now a doubt for the competition. The all-rounder is key to New Zealand’s World Cup side after he made a name for himself scoring 74* to beat England in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final. Elsewhere New Zealand will have to think about the balance of their bowling attack and whether to play two spinners on potentially unfriendly Australian wickets or choose one of Ish Sodhi or Mitchell Santner.

Afghanistan

Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq

There were positive signs for Afghanistan in their recent Asia Cup performance where they notched up victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before losing out in the Super Four. Their strike rate in the middle order and Mohammad Nabi’s form will be a concern for them. Nabi has failed to reach double figures in his last nine T20I innings. Spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be crucial to the Afghanistan bowling attack as ever.

Group B

India

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

India go into the World Cup with facing an injury crisis in their fast bowling department. Jasprit Bumrah is an injury doubt and travelling reserve Mohammad Shami is still recovering from Covid. Suryakumar Yadav is the most in-form T20I batter in the world right now and stands out in a middle order packed with power. Hardik Pandya comes back into the squad providing the side with balance as the all-rounder, and Dinesh Karthik operates as a floating batter to finish off the innings. India will miss Ravindra Jadeja who is out of the tournament with an injury. The biggest choice for India centres around their spinning options with one of Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal or Axar Patel fighting over a place in the XI.

Pakistan

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Pakistan had plenty of questions left to answer after their narrow series loss to England. Their strike rate in the middle was an obvious issue, with their batting hopes resting on their world class openers, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Pakistan’s pace attack is also somewhat up in the air, Haris Rauf had an excellent series against England but was unsupported by the rest of the attack who were all fairly expensive. Shaheen Afridi’s return from injury will be a welcome boost for the side.

South Africa

Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

South Africa’s biggest question is the form of their captain Temba Bavuma. He scored just three runs off 19 balls in three innings in his side’s recent T20I series against India. If South Africa make the big decision to drop their skipper, Reeza Hendricks is ready and waiting in the wings. Rilee Rossouw and David Miller both scored hundreds in India and provide ample power in the middle order. Injury to Dwaine Pretorius has ruled him out of the competition meaning South Africa’s side isn’t as balanced as they may have liked. Another key selection issue will be between the spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. With Pretorius out Maharaj will offer more with the bat and looks set for selection.

Bangladesh:

Mehdi Hasan, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib al Hasan (c), Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed

Shakib Al Hasan’s return to the side from the CPL will be welcome after he missed Afghanistan’s series against the UAE. He looks set to bat four, giving Bangladesh a problem at the top of the order. The bowling line-up will be a concern. Mustafizur Rahman has not been the force he once was at the death and struggled to contain the scoring rate against him recently. Ebadot Hossain looks set to claim a place in the starting XI after featuring against Pakistan last week.

First round groups

Group A

Namibia

Michael van Lingen, Divan la Cock, Nicol Loftie Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Ruben Trumpelmann, Pikky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lungameni

Following on from their impressive qualification for the Super 12 at last year’s T20 World Cup, Namibia will once again hope for impressive performances from their key men, David Wiese and Ruben Trumpelmann. They come into the group stage having had a positive 2022, recording a series victory over Zimbabwe in May and Uganda in April. With Morne Morkel in the camp as a bowling consultant, pacers Jan Frylinck and Tangeni Lungameni will be ones to watch.

Netherlands:

Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (c) (wk), Teja Nidamanuru, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Colin Ackermann, Fred Klaassen

After a difficult series in New Zealand in August, Roelof van der Merwe and Colin Ackermann’s return to the Netherland’s squad will boost their chances ahead of the group stage. A strong pace attack with Logan van Beek and Fred Klaassen ones to watch. Ackermann brings balance to the side, captained by Australian born Scott Edwards.

Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Danushka Gunathliaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka

Sri Lanka have brought back Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka from the squad that made it to the Super 12 in the last T20 World Cup. They come in on good form after a superb run of victories saw them win their first Asia Cup, beating Pakistan by 23 runs in the final. Leg break bowler Wanindu Hasaranga is ranked third in the men’s ICC T20I bowling rankings and also has the potential to be explosive with the bat.

UAE

Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Aryan Lakra, Vriitya Aravind (wk), CP Rizwan (c), Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Junaid Siddique, Aayan Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan

The UAE have never qualified for the Super 12 stage of a T20 World Cup. Coming in off the back of defeats to Bangladesh and Hong Kong, their chances look slim of finishing in Group A’s qualifying positions. They will be looking to Muhammad Waseem, their best batter at the top of the order and captain, CP Rizwan, who comes into the tournament with a string of decent scores under his belt. Junaid Siddique will be the UAE’s main man with the ball, with 29 wickets in 25 T20I matches. He will line-up alongside youngster Aayan Khan, who has had a great start to his international career, taking three wickets in his first two matches against Bangladesh. Karthik Meiyappan will be their main spinning option.

Group B

West Indies

Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (c) (wk), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Alzari Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell, Obed McCoy

The two-time champions have had a tricky run into the tournament, with key players unavailable for selection for their warm-up matches in Australia and Shimron Hetmyer dropped from the squad after missing his flight from Guyana. Key for the West Indies will be Nicholas Pooran, their captain, wicket-keeper and backbone of their middle-order. Without the familiar names who took them to previous T20I glory, the West Indies will need to look to the experience of Jason Holder and the flare of recalled Evin Lewis to successfully negotiate their way through the group stage.

Ireland

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Simi Singh, Joshua Little

With a younger squad than last year where they failed to qualify for the Super 12, Ireland will still need to heavily rely on Paul Stirling for stability in their top-order. The fifth highest run-scorer in men’s T20Is, on fast Australian pitches Stirling will be a key wicket for any team. Without recently retired Kevin O’Brien, Ireland will need to look to the likes of Harry Tector and Gareth Delany to build on their early careers.

Scotland

George Munsey, Michael Jones, Matthew Cross (wk), Richard Berrington (c), Callum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Josh Davey, Bradley Wheal

The 2021 tournament was historic for Scotland, who reached the Super 12 stage for the first time. However, having only played two T20Is since last year’s tournament, they come into the group stage in relatively unknown territory. Their bowlers suffered against New Zealand in Edinburgh, conceding 254 earlier this year. Much of their hopes rest on captain Richie Berrington’s experience and position in the middle-order. Brad Wheal and Josh Davey’s return to the side will also be welcome alongside left-arm spinner Mark Watt.

Zimbabwe

Craig Ervine (c), Regis Chakabva (wk), Sean Williams, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Bradley Evans, Blessing Muzarabani

Zimbabwe have shown promising signs of form across 2022 with a 3-0 series victory over Afghanistan and just losing out to Namibia in May. Sikandar Raza in particular has been in superb touch, striking at 152.21 with four T20I fifties. Captain Craig Ervine is returning to the top of the order from a hamstring injury, but after a fairly quiet year he will need to find form and set the tone in the powerplay. Zimbabwe’s bowlers come into the tournament with some injury concerns. Tendai Chatara, Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani are all returning from spells on the sidelines. Spinning all-rounder Ryan Burl will need to pick up some of the workload to make sure the pace bowlers pull through.

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