Nasser Hussain make his predictions for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which is live in full on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8.
The Sky Sports pundit and former England captain looks at the top contenders, including England; which sides could spring a surprise; and reveals his picks for leading run-scorer and wicket-taker.
Watch England’s first game on Sunday as they take on Nepal in Mumbai from 9.30am.
Winners
I have to go with India. Defending champions, home advantage, immense six-hitting ability and a lot of bowling depth. It’s T20 so it’s hard to predict – if South Africa did not have a bad 20 minutes in the previous final they may well have beaten India. But Suryakumar Yadav’s side are definitely the ones to beat this time around.
India are defending champions at the T20 World Cup after victory in the 2024 edition
Semi-finalists
I think I will say the four semi-finalists from the previous World Cup, with India joined by England, South Africa and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan have a tough opening group with South Africa and New Zealand. It’s close between Afghanistan and New Zealand, for me.
Out of all the teams that have grown in the last decade, Afghanistan would be right up the top, while this will be coach Jonathan Trott’s last tournament in charge so he will want to finish on a high.
He is ever so calm. Not all of the time but most of the time!
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan will be central to Afghanistan’s hopes
Afghanistan have high-quality hitters, good seam and swing options and obviously they are blessed with lots of spinners. They have a lot of experience as well with players sought after in franchise leagues.
There are lot of good sides, though. Australia are always in the mix, Pakistan are in form and should like Sri Lankan conditions.
Sri Lanka are talented, although they surprisingly didn’t bat too well against spin in the warm-up series against England. West Indies on their day are dangerous.
An outsider who could push for the Super 8s?
I would like to see Nepal do well as they have fanatical supporters.
Rohit Paudel’s Nepal will play England, Scotland, West Indies and Italy in round one
If you see them play at home or watch a Nepal Premier League game, there will be good crowds and I believe tickets are selling well for their matches at this World Cup. If you have that core, cricket-mad following, you can grow. Afghanistan have proved that.
If they can beat Scotland and Italy, then their Group C game with West Indies – a team they beat 2-1 in a T20I series last year – becomes massive. They are brilliant in the field but the death bowling would be one worry.
Netherlands have beaten England twice before in the T20 World Cup, while Scotland impressed against England and Australia in the last World Cup and have some very fine players, despite not qualifying initially and coming in last minute for Bangladesh.
What do you expect from England?
This is their best format at the moment. They are ranked third behind India and Australia and have a settled group. I like the balance of the bowling attack better than I did in the Champions Trophy, albeit that was 50-over cricket not T20.
Sam Curran (right) took a hat-trick in the recent 3-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka
Sam Curran, an excellent and experienced white-ball cricketer, is back in the side and they have good spinners. Adil Rashid, obviously, but Liam Dawson is a real competitor, too.
Rashid is so dependable. He rarely goes around the park and people are still not always picking him which is a massive help. His four overs will be invaluable.
You have Phil Salt and Jos Buttler opening and a deep batting line-up, with Harry Brook superb in the middle order and Tom Banton improving all the time, building on the potential we have always seen since his early days at Somerset.
England’s Tom Banton is likely to bat in the middle order
Maybe an issue is who takes the new ball as that was an area Sri Lanka targeted in the powerplay.
What will give England a lot of confidence is getting over the line in the third T20 in Pallekele on a difficult pitch, as we know they can take you down on good surfaces.
Leading run-scorer and wicket-taker
I am going to say India’s Abhishek Sharma to top the batting charts and team-mate Jasprit Bumrah for the bowling as I think their side will go all the way.
Watch out in the crowd when India’s Abhishek Sharma is batting!
You have to pick a top-order batter as they will face the most balls and Abhishek is an in-form superstar going into the tournament. He is a massive six hitter.
Bumrah is a genuine wicket-taker, often brought on for that purpose as we saw in the final against South Africa two years ago.
He doesn’t always take the new ball but is crucial at the death when wickets are to be had.
Any other players you are looking forward to seeing?
It is nice to have Quinton de Kock back for South Africa. He has been playing very well since returning to international duty. He knows conditions well from playing in the IPL and if he can get firing, that Proteas line-up looks very strong.
Quinton de Kock hit a hundred for South Africa in a warm-up series against West Indies
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, meanwhile, has done very well at No 3 for his side. He is an excellent player of spin and that will be needed in Sri Lanka.
It can be a poisoned chalice being given the Pakistan captaincy and everything that goes with it but he has formed a good combination with coach Mike Hesson, a good calming influence, much like Trott is with Afghanistan.
Watch every match of the T20 World Cup live Sky Sports from February 7-March 8. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free.
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