In the truest sense, Australia have conquered the game of cricket.

Even though cricket is a global game which in terms of popularity is only behind football in the world, the people running the sport have always been sceptical about letting new teams join the ranks of the established names.

After being the flag bearers of fearless cricket for the past few years, England now seem like a team that have lost their mojo and are stuck between gears.

On the face of it, this should be a World Cup that suits South Asian teams. Pitches in the Caribbean have tended to be slow, in Guyana, Kingstown, and Antigua in particular.

Scotland will be heading into their sixth T20 World Cup with a blend of experience and youthful exuberance, hoping to continue their track record of a blockbuster opening fixture and, perhaps, take a step further this time.

If history has imparted any wisdom, it’s to never count out the West Indies cricket team, even after a year as calamitous as 2023. Failing to advance to the main round of the ODI World Cup in India was a colossal debacle, even for a team that have long concentrated their efforts on Twenty20 cricket.

While the exclusion of Jan Nicol Loftie Eaton from the T20 World Cup squad has grabbed the headlines, there are plenty of big names in the Namibia squad.

England scripted history in 2022 when Jos Buttler-led team defeated Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to win the T20 World Cup more than once.

One could be fooled into predicting New Zealand’s fate in this World Cup based on their record since the last edition -- 16 wins in 34 matches -- as the Black Caps have, time and again, brought their prime version in mega events.

A peek at the recent form of most of the cricket-playing nations might just be enough to give you an idea as to how they could fare at a particular event.

There is no room for bummer this summer as co-hosts West Indies prepare to set aside their miseries of the past two editions. Instead, as the two-time champions and the first to achieve the feat, the Men in Maroon will be inclined to seek inspiration from past successes.

The fact that Afghanistan have had nine players in teams’ rosters for the Indian Premier League this season speaks volumes about the reputation of Afghan individuals as well as Afghanistan as a team in Twenty20 cricket. To put this into perspective, that number is more than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and on par with New Zealand and West Indies -- the latter two regarded as powerhouses in all forms of cricket.

Online cricket traffic coming out of the USA as well as ICC event ticket purchase credit card sales data further supported the point that there is plenty of money to be made out of fans located in America, who are starved of high-quality cricket action close to home.

Uganda qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup might have been an upset, but it definitely wasn’t an accident.

I In 2007 as the inaugural edition was about to start, Twenty20s were still widely viewed as the ‘fun’ version of cricket. Its reputation as the ‘fun’ version, prompted the ‘serious’ cricketers to distance themselves from it. Perhaps seeing something like a ‘bowl out’ decide the fate of tied matches inclined them to stay away from such frivolity.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) are back in the T20 World Cup after a one-edition absence. They dominated in the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, winning all six matches on home soil.

For those cricket fans who have got used to enjoying the sight of batters steamrolling bowlers of all ilk over the past 65 days or so, will the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies may prove to be a bit of a turn-off.

Under the guidance of a young Najmul Hossain Shanto and with some exciting weapons in their arsenal, Bangladesh will hope to re-write their record in T20 World Cups heading into the ninth edition of the mega event. 

India will have to set aside all the chatter regarding a few of their star names and get behind one common idea of winning the T20 World Cup if they are to quench their thirst for a first major trophy in white-ball cricket since their 2013 Champions Trophy triumph.

South Africa’s cricket team embodies immense talent and potential, yet since re-instatement into international cricket, they have always fallen short of winning trophies. Despite fielding powerful squads and entering tournaments as favorites, they’ve consistently earned the unenviable title of “chokers.”