Danish Kaneria backs India, Afghanistan over Pakistan to qualify for T20 World Cup final

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has backed India as favourites for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Kaneria, while speaking on his official YouTube channel, said India will go into the tournament as favourites and will qualify for the playoffs from Group two. Kaneria further stated that he doesn't see Pakistan qualifying for the semis as the team's performances in the recent past have been very disappointing. Kaneria believes New Zealand and Afghanistan will fight for the second qualifying spot from group two.

Kaneria also said that England and West Indies are likely to qualify from Group one, courtesy of their world-class players in the shortest format.

Kaneria said West Indies showed their strength in the recently-concluded T20I series against Australia, adding "I feel West Indies and England will qualify from Group one". Kaneria also underscored the importance of keeping India and Pakistan in the same group, saying "India-Pak games are always of high intensity and generate a lot of revenue for the ICC". 

Kaneria went on to say that the India-Pakistan match in the upcoming T20 World Cup will also feature Virat Kohli and Babar Azam facing off as captains for the first time. He believes it will be interesting to see who wins the match because they are both among the best white-ball batsmen in the world.

T20 World Cup 2021

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced groups of  Super 12s for the upcoming T20 World Cup. While England, Australia, South Africa, and West Indies have been kept in Group one, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Afghanistan will lock horns in group two. Meanwhile, winners of Group A and B from Round 1 of the T20 World Cup will join Group one and Group two respectively. Runners-up of Group A and B will be assigned to Group two and one respectively. The top eight teams in the ICC T20 rankings have been automatically qualified for the Super 12 round, while the bottom eight will compete for the remaining four spots. The T20 World Cup is slated to begin in October this year after the conclusion of the second half of IPL 2021. 

(Image Credit: DanishKaneria/Insta/BCCI)