ICC World Twenty20: Nasser Hussain and Bumble's predictions
Tuesday 15 March 2016 20:43, UK
The best big-hitters in the global game are about to tee off. Here are our pundit ICC World Twenty20 picks…
Most sixes?
Bob Willis: Martin Guptill - he's the most aerial opening batsman in the tournament
Rob Key: Jos Buttler - this is the tournament where he shows the sub-continent how good he is
Nick Knight: Quinton de Kock - quite simply a great ball striker in good form
Nasser Hussain: Rohit Sharma - a serious striker of the ball who'll cash in at the top of the order
David Lloyd: AB de Villiers - the best player in the business. Powerful and skillful
Rising star?
David: Jasprit Bumrah - he gets special praise from MS Dhoni, which is good enough for me
Nick: Pawan Negi - he may prove to be good utility player and has enjoyed IPL experience
Bob: It's Negi for me too - he's a very promising slow left-arm orthodox bowler
Rob: Adil Rashid is as talented a spinner as England has ever had
Nas: Mohammad Amir - a comeback star. Forget the controversy for the moment; such is his ability that he could have a real impact swinging the new white ball
England's key man?
Bob: It has to be Jos Buttler - the 360 degree man
Nas: Jos has real X-factor. If South Africa's 'freak' is AB de Villiers, Jos is England's
David: Jos knows T20 and I think he will bat up the order. Also watch this space with Root opening
Rob: Eoin Morgan. He's a pure match winner if on form
Nick: I'm going for Jos Buttler - England, don't leave him out of game for too long because he can have a devastating impact on an innings
Best thing about touring India?
Live ICC World T20 Cricket
David: Crowds are mad for T20. Nowt else matters... No Premier League, racing, rugby, cycling, fishing, darts, snooker. Cricket is King!
Rob: The cricket-mad culture. The atmosphere is the best in the world for playing cricket
Nas: The food, the food and the food. There is no better place to eat in the world than India
Nick: Not worrying about putting on weight!
Bob: The passion of the fans.
Most wickets?
David: Reece Topley - the left-armer is a very quick learner and will build on England's South Africa tour
Nick: Ravichandran Ashwin. He's a fine spinner who is prepared to be aggressive and is keen to search for wickets rather than worry about economy rate
Bob: Same for me - Ashwin has great control on turning pitches
Rob: To be fair, Ashwin is bowling as well as ever and spins it both ways. He should be the pick of the spinners.
Nas: If not Ashwin, then Ravindra Jadeja - he often goes unnoticed but is a very good white-ball bowler and could benefit if the opposition try to see out Ashwin and go after him
Tournament winner
The pundits agree: India. They proved in winning the 50-over World Cup in home conditions that they can deal with pressure and expectation. Home advantage will be massive, and there's every chance Ashwin will spin them to victory. It's India's to lose for the above reasons, plus the experience gained in IPL.
Sky Sports is the only place you can watch all 35 games in 27 days of the 2016 ICC World T20. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
