2024 T20 World Cup team guide: Versatile bowling attack boosts India's chances

India

Captain Rohit Sharma
Big hitter Suryakumar Yadav
Bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah
X factor Shivam Dube

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2007)

India did not put a foot wrong on their way to last year's 50-over World Cup final, reeling off ten victories on the spin before a shock six-wicket defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad.

Rohit Sharma's men will be desperate to make amends for that loss – and for their underwhelming T20 World Cup record since winning the inaugural tournament in 2007.

Opener Virat Kohli was the leading runscorer in this season's IPL while Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube are middle-order match-winners and India's bowling attack has all bases covered with brilliant fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah backed up by an array of top-class spinners. 

Australia

Captain Mitchell Marsh
Big hitter Travis Head
Bowling ace Mitchell Starc
X factor Tim David

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2021)

Australia defied low expectations to win the T20 World Cup in 2021 and again last year, when they were crowned 50-over world champions in India.

The Aussies should be leading contenders in the Caribbean although T20 captain Mitchell Marsh has been struggling with a hamstring injury and David Warner and Glenn Maxwell had disappointing IPL campaigns.

Opener Travis Head played some stunning innings in the IPL and fast bowler Mitchell Starc starred for champions Kolkata but much will depend on the batting form of all-rounders Maxwell, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis, as well as power-hitter Tim David. 

England

Captain Jos Buttler
Big hitter Phil Salt
Bowling ace Adil Rashid
X factor Jofra Archer

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2010 & 2022)

England's defence of their 50-over World Cup title last year was an unmitigated disaster and the T20 world champions have been easy to back in the build-up to this tournament.

The fitness of fast bowlers Jofra Archer, Reece Topley and Mark Wood will be crucial while veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid poses a major threat on pitches in the Caribbean.

England lost a dramatic semi-final to New Zealand in 2021 before lifting the trophy the following year and captain Jos Buttler, who is set to keep wicket and open the batting, needs plenty of support from dashing batters Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Harry Brook.

South Africa

Captain Aiden Markram
Big hitter Heinrich Klaasen
Bowling ace Kagiso Rabada
X factor Tristan Stubbs

Best T20 World Cup performance Semi-finals (2009 & 2014)

South Africa's long wait for a major trophy continues after their semi-final defeat to Australia in the 2023 50-over World Cup, where the Proteas played some cracking cricket, finishing second to India in the league stage.

They go into the T20 World Cup with some form and fitness doubts hanging over them but things could quickly fall into place for a talented and experienced squad.

Their spin attack looks just as strong as the pace department – something of a rarity for South Africa – and they have one of the most powerful middle-order units in the tournament, built around ace six-hitter Heinrich Klaasen.

West Indies

Captain Rovman Powell
Big hitter Nicholas Pooran
Bowling ace Gudakesh Motie
X factor Andre Russell

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2012 & 2016)

The tournament co-hosts are, along with England, the only team to have won the T20 World Cup more than once and they will be eager to make up for their shock failure to qualify for last year's 50-over tournament.

The West Indies were unable to tempt IPL player of the season Sunil Narine out of international retirement but his Kolkata teammate Andre Russell also had a superb campaign.

Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran and skipper Rovman Powell form a top-class middle-order and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie impressed in May's 3-0 series win over an under-strength South Africa side.

New Zealand

Captain Kane Williamson
Big hitter Finn Allen
Bowling ace Trent Boult
X factor Glenn Phillips

Best T20 World Cup performance Runners-up (2021)

New Zealand lost to India in last year's 50-over World Cup semi-final and they have reached at least the semis at the last three T20 World Cups.

Beaten by Australia in the 2021 final, the Black Caps have a settled squad featuring only four players under the age of 31. Left-armer Trent Boult remains a huge menace with the new ball but fellow veterans Kane Williamson and Tim Southee are less convincing in T20 cricket.

Key opener Devon Conway missed the IPL through injury and New Zealand need Finn Allen to deliver on a regular basis if they are to upset the teams above them in the betting.

Pakistan

Captain Babar Azam
Big hitter Mohammad Rizwan
Bowling ace Shaheen Shah Afridi
X factor Imad Wasim

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2009)

Pakistan's batsmen never quite got going in the 2022 T20 World Cup final, when England restricted them to 137-8 from 20 overs in Melbourne, and it could be a similar story in 2024.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are prolific runscorers but they need to up their strike-rates and hard-hitting young opener Saim Ayub looks a little raw at international level.

Recalling experienced spinning all-rounder Imad Wasim is a smart move and fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf should cause problems for opposition batsmen but Pakistan's lack of batting power could mean they come up short in the race for semi-final places.

Sri Lanka

Captain Wanindu Hasaranga
Big hitter Kusal Mendis
Bowling ace Matheesha Pathirana
X factor Maheesh Theekshana

Best T20 World Cup performance Winners (2014)

The Lankans reached three of the first five T20 World Cup finals, beating India by six wickets in 2014, but they have been uncompetitive since then and their 2022 campaign began with a 55-run defeat to Namibia.

They were hampered by injuries at that tournament but their 2024 squad is shaping up nicely, particularly in a pace-bowling department featuring Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara and Dilshan Madushanka, a star of last year's 50-over World Cup.

Captain Wanindu Hasaranga was player of the tournament when Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup two years ago and their batsmen, not always reliable, impressed in March's series victory in Bangladesh.

Afghanistan

Captain Rashid Khan
Big hitter Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Bowling ace Naveen-ul-Haq
X factor Azmatullah Omarzai

Best T20 World Cup performance Second group stage (2016, 2021 & 2022)

Having lost 14 of their first 15 matches at 50-over World Cups, Afghanistan beat England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in India last year and also had champions Australia deep in the mire at 91-7 chasing a target of 292.

That performance was indicative of the Afghans' speedy progress up the ranks of world cricket and they could prove awkward opponents for New Zealand and the West Indies in Group C.

Skipper Rashid Khan is a T20 superstar, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz starred for Kolkata in the IPL final, and Afghanistan have a promising crop of fast bowlers to back up their more established spinners.

Bangladesh

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto
Big hitter Litton Das
Bowling ace Mustafizur Rahman
X factor Rishad Hossain

Best T20 World Cup performance Second group stage (2007, 2014, 2016, 2021 & 2022)

In contrast to Afghanistan, Bangladesh's development appears to have stalled and young captain Najmul Hossain Shanto may struggle to lead his side into the Super 12 stage.

The Tigers have won only nine of their 37 completed matches at T20 World Cups and their two victories at the 2022 tournament came against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, by margins of nine and three runs.

Veteran Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman bring some quality to the side but fast bowler Taskin Ahmed is an injury doubt. The Tigers look short of batting power and May's 2-1 series defeat to the USA was hardly the ideal preparation for the tournament.

The rest of the field 

The Netherlands qualified automatically for the 2024 T20 World Cup by virtue of their impressive Super 12 wins over South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2022.

The Dutch famously defeated England at Lord's in 2009 but are missing county stalwarts Roelof van der Merwe, Colin Ackermann and Fred Klaassen this time around.

Ireland stunned England in 2022, claiming a rain-affected victory in Melbourne, and their experienced squad includes left-arm paceman Josh Little, who has featured for Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

Brad Wheal, a T20 Blast winner with Hampshire in 2022, is a key bowler for Scotland, who won all six of their qualifying matches including an eight-run victory over Ireland.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, still only 33, will represent the USA and the tournament co-hosts thumped Sunday's opponents Canada 4-0 in a recent T20 series.

Namibia qualified at the expense of Zimbabwe and Oman are aiming to follow up their T20 World Cup wins over Ireland in 2016 and Papua New Guinea in 2021.

PNG lost all three of their matches three years ago while Nepal's star leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has been refused a US visa and debutants Uganda face a tough task in Group C.

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.