Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said that no team is favourite to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, so it is going to be more exciting.
The marquee event will start in the UAE and Oman on October 17 while the finals will be played in Dubai on November 14.
“The most exciting thing about the T20 World Cup 2021 is that there are no clear favourites. Coming into the competition in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, it feels like there is no standout side and as a result, any one of a large number of teams could end up lifting the trophy,” wrote Muralitharan in his column for the ICC on Friday.
Muralitharan believes that the power-play overs will be crucial for the teams, irrespective of batting or bowling first.
“The crucial factor will be the first six overs. That is what teams need to focus on, whether they are batting or bowling. I think that 70 to 80 per cent of the game depends on those first six overs and the result comes down to how well you do in that period.
“People will look at the latter overs and, of course they are important too, but if you don’t get it right at the start, there is so little time to catch up. It’s not like a one-day game or a Test match, everything comes down to getting a good start. That is part of the reason that I think the World Cup is wide open.”
Muralitharan acknowledged that the current Sri Lanka side hasn’t been playing well, because of which they are not in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
“From a Sri Lankan perspective, the team will have to go through qualifying in the first round. The team has gone down in the last five or six years and it’s the first time in our history that it has happened to us.”
Sri Lanka, the 2014 champions, have been a shadow of their glorious days. Low rankings meant that they are now in Round 1 of the T20 World Cup.
