T20 World Cup: Irfan Pathan joins prediction game, names his 'top 2' picks for title

The Super 12 of the T20 World Cup kickstarted on October 23 with Australia taking on South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Cricket experts have started their prediction games and fans are also naming their favourites who could win the T20 World Cup 2021. Now, Team India's former speedster Irfan Pathan has joined the prediction game and also picked his two favourite teams who are the top contenders for the T20 World Cup 2021. 

Sharing his T20 World Cup favourites on Twitter, Irfan Pathan opined that seeing the conditions of the UAE and the team strengths, he is backing Team India and Australia for the T20 World Cup. However, Pathan also wrote that he wants to put defending champions West Indies in the top 2, but didn't because they have a 'thin' bowling line-up. 

Team India's strengths

The major strength that Team India possesses is its formidable batting unit. The top eight consist of players with an impeccable record in winning games for their respective sides. The list includes batters such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. All these players are proven match-winners with the bat. On top of that, Pandya and Jadeja can impact the game with their bowling too as they are considered top-class all-rounders in the game right now. 

Another strength that Team India possesses is its spin attack, which comprises of names like Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, and Rahul Chahar. India's spin attack is one of the most dangerous in the competition, with no team boasting of such a large number of spinners in their T20 World Cup squad. The tracks in the UAE, where the second phase of IPL 2021 was played recently, are believed to be spinner-friendly. India could exploit the conditions in their favour. Virat Kohli & Co. will start their T20 World Cup campaign in Super 12 on October 24. 

Team Australia's strengths

Team Australia's biggest strength will be their pace attack comprising of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and  Kane Richardson. Their seamers have great pace and variations in their bags and are all capable bowlers up front and at the death. The team also has Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, and Mitchell Swepson who can be handy on the slow UAE surfaces. 

(Image: @T20WorldCup/Twitter/PTI)