Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop believes that the clear favorites tag for winning the title won’t work in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, as he reckoned that there are a lot of contenders to win the coveted trophy in the UAE.
As there has been nothing predictable, the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 warm-up games have been very intense, with South Africa, India, Australia, and England looking in great shape ahead of the T20 World Cup super 12 stages. Sri Lanka has also qualified for the Super 12 stages of the T20 World Cup.
He stated that the hosts India, England, the West Indies, Pakistan, and New Zealand are the five clear contenders for the T20 World Cup in 2021 and one of them will lift the trophy.
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The West Indian great also pointed out the strength of his top teams in the T20 World Cup, saying England has aggressive batters while the Team Indian team has stars throughout their line-up, whereas New Zealand is beginning to hit more boundaries alongside the additional advantage of having a dangerous bowling attack and Pakistan are dangerous with the ball.
Well, Bishop believes that the two-time champions, West Indies, have a very experienced squad and will have the upper hand in the tournament. The former pacer has his ‘fingers crossed’ that the defending champions can lift the T20 World Cup trophy for the third time this year.
Bishop told Betway: “We have to be realistic, there are lots of contenders.”
Highlighting the strengths of the teams, he mentioned: “England have got guys who are aggressive with the bat. India have stars throughout their line-up. New Zealand is beginning to hit more boundaries and have a dangerous bowling attack. Pakistan is dangerous with the ball. But the West Indies have so much experience now, so I have my fingers crossed that they can go well.”
The commentator also recalled the story behind his famous "Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!" chant in the commentary box when the all-rounder smashed hit four sixes off Ben Stokes in the last over to help West Indies win the T20 World Cup trophy in 2016.
Bishop recalled, “One of the questions posed was which players we should look forward to watching in the final, beyond the obvious guys like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. I wasn’t the lead commentator at the time, it was David Lloyd. I was just waiting to see how the action played out and then David tapped me on the shoulder and said: “Please, you go ahead”.”
He signed off, “Brathwaite came to my mind because in that World Cup he’d been bowling well and he could smack the ball. I said to the guy: Carlos Brathwaite is a good all-around cricketer, remember that name. When he hit the final six, the first thing that regurgitated was what I’d said to that gentleman.”
