Surprise omission in Wasim Akram's T20 World Cup semi-finalists list

The 2022 T20 World Cup will kick off from October 16 in Australia with 16 teams participating for the elusive crown. Eight teams have already made the Super 12 stage of the competition based on their ICC rankings as of November last year, but the remaining four places will be contested for between eight teams, divided into two groups each, from Sunday onwards. Ahead of the start of the tournaments, veteran cricketers and analysts have begun placing their opinions on who could be the potential winner. Joining the bandwagon, legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram weighed in on the prospects of teams participating in the marquee tournament. The former Pakistan captain predicted India, Pakistan and Australia to be the semi-finalists of the T20 World Cup. He then added South Africa as well to the list, calling them a “dark horse”. "For the semifinals, what I would like to see is Australia, India and Pakistan. But South Africa could be a dark horse," Akram was quoted as saying to the media in Dubai. Also read: 'The truth is, India have been timid in World Cups, they go into a shell': Nasser Hussain ahead of T20 World Cup Led by Babar Azam, Pakistan is currently playing in a tri-nation series which includes New Zealand and Bangladesh. Runner-up of Asia Cup 2022, the Pakistan team is battling middle order woes in its batting which might affect their chances in the T20 World Cup. Team India have reached Australia and warming up with practice matches against Western Australia XI. The present No.1 T20I team in the world face serious questions in their death bowling in the absence of senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Although, Rohit Sharma and Co. have a star studded batting lineup. Meanwhile, Australia, the defending champions, have suffered a major dent to their confidence ahead of the tournament as visitors England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match T20I series. Earlier, Aaron Finch-led side had also lost the T20I series against India. Their bowling looks settled but are experimenting with their batters and batting positions. However, Australia surely will have slight advantage of home conditions and crowd support. India, Pakistan and Australia have won the T20 World Cup once each. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

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