T20 Cricket World Cup Team Guide: Who can stop powerhouse India?

• Analysis of the top nine in the betting

• Team batting and bowling rankings

• Player win rates for tops markets

• Squads and possible XIs 

• Stats from end of last World Cup

• Read our Ultimate Guide to the tournament HERE

• For Betfair's latest cricket betting odds click here

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How it works

The group matches start on February 7 until February 20. There are 40 group matches in total with up to three matches a day taking place in the group stage. Each match is worth two points for the winner. if the match is abandoned or postponed (due to rain or something unforeseen) one point to each team is awarded. 

• 40 group stage matches: February 7 - 20

• 12 Super 8 matches: February 21 - March 1

• Two Semi-finals: March 4 and 5

• Final: March 8

Group A: India, USA, Pakistan, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Scotland, Nepal
Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

The top two teams in each group will progress to the Super Eight stage. These eight teams will then be split into two groups based on the pre-tournament seedings. If a seeded team does not qualify from the group stage, they will be assigned their seed.

For example, if Italy qualify at the expense of England, then the Italians will automatically progress to the Super Eight group England were assigned to based on their seeding. 

Each team in the Super Eight stage will play the other group members once. The seeded teams have already been assigned their group in the Super Eight, providing they qualify. So it doesn't matter whether a seeded team finishes first or second in the first group phase, they will be put into the same section.

At the moment, the projected Super Eight groups (based on seeding) look like this:

Projected Super Eight Group 1

• India, Australia, West Indies, South Africa

Projected Super Eight Group 2

• England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

The top two from each of these groups will then be drawn into the semi-final with first and second playing off against second and first respectively. 

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India 13/102.30

Win: 82%
Batting rank: 1
Bowling rank: 3
Top bat win % last 2 years: Abhishek 40
Top bowler win % last 2 years: Kuldep 46

Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh

Possible XI: Abhishek, Ishan, Surykumar, Tilak, Hardik, Rinku, Dube, Axar, Kuldeep/Varun, Arshdeep, Bumrah

Analysis: The champs. The favourites. Rightly so. Sometimes one just to accept a team has few weaknesses and this is one of them. It's impossible to see them failing to make the semi-final. Only one bad day at the office can stop them making the final, surely. Their hitting is ridiculous and their bowling, when fully-focussed, is unrivalled.

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Australia 4/15.00

Win: 71%
Batting rank: 3
Bowling rank: 5
Top bat win %: Green 46
Top bowler win %: Dwarshuis 54

Squad Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Possible XI Head, Marsh, Green, Inglis, David, Stoinis, Maxwell, Connolly, Ellis, Hazlewood, Zampa

Analysis No team will fight as hard as Australia and no team can match their experience in getting the job done in ICC events. That's the good news. The bad news is a group who are out of form and fitness. There are doubts about Tim David and Josh Hazlewood being ready to start the campaign for example. The 3-0 shellacking versus Pakistan was a major worry. It is very hard to argue that this price on Australia is a mistake. 

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England 5/16.00

Win: 67%
Batting rank: 2
Bowling rank: 8
Top bat win %: Salt 35
Top bowler win %: Rashid 22

Squad Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood

Possible XI Salt, Buttler, Bethell, Brook, Banton, Curran, Jacks, Overton, Dawson, Archer, Rashid,

Analysis There's a lot to like about England in this format. They're the one team who reckon they can take on India in terms of power and they have an excellent balance to their XI. Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer are probably the key, though. Rashid is excellent in Asia and Archer's menace should quell fears that the bowling group isn't up to it.  A semi berth is the minimum of expectations.

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South Africa 5/16.00

Win: 38%
Batting rank: 5
Bowling rank: 9
Top bat win %: De Kock 40
Top bowler win %: Bosch 50

Squad Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs

Possible XI QDK, Markram, Rickleton, Brevis, Stubbs, J Smith, Linde, Bosch, Jansen, Maharaj, Rabada

Analysis The beaten finalists last time. But do they know what they are doing in this format? Dreadful numbers (above) suggest not. They then picked th wrong squad only to get the right one thanks to injuries. They are well-fancied because of the possible XI that could put on the field. In Aiden Markram they have the smartest captain and Corbin Boch may have the standout tournament from the all-rounders. 

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New Zealand 10/111.00

Win: 59%
Batting rank: 4
Bowling rank: 6
Top bat win %:  Duffy 40
Top bowler win %: Seifert 38

Squad Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sod

Possible XI Allen, Seifert, Ravindra, Chapman, Phillips, Mitchell, Bracewell, Santner, Sodhi, Duffy, Henry

Analysis New Zealand consistently make it to the business end and they should expect to qualify for the semi-final. pairing Tim Seifert and finn Allen should revolutionise their hitting at the top of the order. They probably don't have enough power to go all the way but efficiency is guaranteed. They didn't disgrace themselves in defeat by India in a warm-up series which should prove beneficial. 

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Pakistan 11/112.00

Win: 57%
Batting rank: 7
Bowling rank: 2
Top bat win %:  Babar 26
Top bowler win %: Nawaz 24

Squad Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq

Possible XI Farhan, Ayub, Salman, Babar, Usman, Shadab, Nawaz, faheem, Afridi, Naseem, Abrar

Analysis Pakistan have boycotted their match against India in Group A, putting them under pressure. They looked vulnerable to a shock against the likes of Netherlands, USA and Namibia regardless and one wonders whether political distractions will now adversely impact the players. If they do make it to the Super 8s their lack of batting power is likely to be a problem. 

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Sri Lanka 35/136.00

Win: 41%
Batting rank: 8
Bowling rank: 4
Top bat win %:  Nissanka 34
Top bowler win %: Chameera 33

Squad  Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva,  Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana

Possible XI Nissanka, Mishara, Kusal, Rathnayakae, Asalanka, Shanaka, Liyanage, Hasaranga, Wellalage, Chameera, Pathirana

Analysis Sri Lanka need slow and low turners and then have the guts to deploy an army of spinners. Outside their front three there is a distinct lack of hitting ability so attritional cricket/conditions are their best hope. They're unlikely to get that and will do well to make it out of the Super 8s. They are a much better prospect chasing a target than setting one. 

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Afghanistan 35/136.00

Win: 57%
Batting rank: 9
Bowling rank: 1
Top bat win %:  Zadran 35
Top bowler win %: Rashid Khan 38

Squad  Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen Ul Haq, Mohammad Ishaq, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran. Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi

Possible XI Gurbaz, Zadran, Atal, Rasooli, Omarzai, Naib, Nabi, Rashid, Mujeeb, Noor, Farooqi

Analysis Another team which needs to play attritional cricket. In 160 games they are bang in the mix but a lack of Big Boy power means they come under severe pressure on the flatter surfaces. Even with a crack bowling unit able to restrict, 180s and 190s may still be too high in a tournament which promises to be full of runs. They could take out New Zealand in the Group of Death, however, with the Chennai surface suiting them in that contest.

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West Indies 40/141.00

Win: 33%
Batting rank: 6
Bowling rank: 7
Top bat win %:  Hope 28
Top bowler win %: Shepherd 31

Squad  Shai Hope (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd

Possible XI Hope, King, Hetmyer, Chase, Powell, Shepherd, Holder, Akeal, Motie, Forde, Shamar

Analysis West Indies have won this tournament twice but they face a very difficult task were they to qualify for a Super 8 group comprising India, Australia and South Africa. Their matches are likely to be chaotic with extreme overs and unders in play. Romario Shepherd's win rate with the ball is immense but, worryingly, Windies don't seem to realise his menace. He didn't even bowl in their last match. 

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Full Associate squads HERE and players to follow in our Ultimate Guide

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