South Asian Business news and information

First world cup in Twenty20 format is set to begin from 11 September 2007. Twenty20 World Cup 2007 will be held in South Africa where 12 teams will participate. Twenty20 is the shorter version of cricket. It is true that many cricket playing countries have not started this from of cricket in their domestic league yet.

The main thing is that cricket fans are now really excited to experience the second world cup in this year. ICC world cup 2007 has already been held this year. Twenty20 is becoming popular day by day because of its hard hitting batting showcase and full of excitement.

The format of Twenty20 was first developed in English county cricket. To attract more fans in county cricket, Twenty20 format was initiated. In Twenty20 cricket each tem can bat 20 overs unlike to the 50 over’s ODI match. Now, ahead of the first Twenty20 world cup, the question is who is going to win the title in South Africa.

I think Twenty20 World Cup 2007 is wide open for the teams. I do not think that one or two countries can dominate in this form of cricket. As it is just a 40 over match, chances of having upsets will be much higher than ODI or Test cricket because just five over performance can change the match.

However, I think, New Zealand has better chance in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup 2007 as their squad looks balanced. They have some young but talented hard hitters as well a good bowling side. All rounder Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Peter Fulton can come up with some surprise performances during the Twenty20 world cup. Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond will lead their bowling side. However, as I said before that the tournament is wide open, so I want to mention some other teams who will have higher potential to win the twenty20 world cup.

Australia will try to continue their dominance in Twenty20 world cup. However, their main problem is that most of their player are not used to playing Twenty20. Still, Australian side looks impressive as they have some big hitters including Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

South Africa will have some advantage as the hose country. They will get the home support and playing in home condition will be another advantage. Herschelle Gibbs and Justin Kemp are expected to play a big part for South Africa. Actually England has some solid hard hitters who can change the situation instantly. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are capable to destroy any bowling side in their days.

India also has some big hitters including Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag who have proved their hard hitting batting capability in international cricket. However, I can not think Indian as a favorite just because of their bowling. The recent performance of their bowlers is very poor and it would be difficult for them to show any resistant against the opponent big hitters.

Among the Asian countries, I think Sri Lanka has better chance. Their squad seems to be balanced with the combination of both young and experienced players. Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara and Chamara Silva will be vital for the opponent bowlers.

Another Asian power Pakistan is always as unpredictable team in the cricket world. After the disastrous ICC world cup, Pakistan team has some impressive recent performances. However, everything depends on the consistency of the Pakistani players. Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif are their key players. Actually, much of their successes depend on the performance of their bowlers.

I really wish that Bangladesh does well in Twenty20 World Cup 2007. I don’t think Bangladesh will win the tournament but I would surely love to see my home country causing an upset or two.

Who do you think will become champion in upcoming Twenty20 World Championship 2007?