Former England skipper, Michael Vaughan fails to understand ‘how India gets the favorites tag’ in the ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman. Vaughan said England is the favorite to win the marquee event ahead of the T20 World Cup which began on October 17 with the qualifying rounds. Vaughan said the Virat Kohli-led side ‘has been a long way off” in their last few tournaments.
During a chat on BBC Test Match Special, Michael Vaughan said, “England for me are the favorites. I don’t know how India gets the “favorites” tag in T20 cricket. I just think they’ve been a long way off in the last few tournaments.”
The former right-handed batter, however, did not dismiss the hosts India completely and added that they can be a threat to England along with West Indies, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
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Elaborating the same, Michael Vaughan said, “West Indies and Pakistan will be threats. I wouldn’t write off Pakistan either. New Zealand have high-class players and you know they will come up with strategies to win games. I’ll say it now, I don’t give Australia much chance. In T20 cricket they’ve struggled.”
He further added, “Glenn Maxwell’s exceptional so he will have to have an incredible tournament. But I don’t see the Aussies doing too much. England, India, West Indies, New Zealand, one of those four, and maybe Pakistan because of the conditions. The pitches will be interesting because they’ve been used and slow [during the Indian Premier League]. I think 150-160 might be defendable scores.”
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England, who are currently the ODI World Champions, will be missing the services of their match-winners, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in this T20 World Cup, and their captain Eoin Morgan, has not scored many in his last few appearances. But Vaughan is confident that England have the goods to go all the way.
“I think T20 is unpredictable because you do need an element of fortune to go your way. In 50-over cricket, the best team generally wins. But in T20 cricket, an individual can have a burst with the bat or ball and win the game. I do think you need some luck. You need your star players to be in fine form, not many of England’s players did much in the IPL.”
The 2005 Ashes-winning skipper pointed out that Morgan captaincy can be a crucial factor to England’s success.
Michael Vaughan elaborated, “Eoin Morgan led Kolkata [Knight Riders] to the final and captained brilliantly, but with the bat he did nothing. England have everything covered. Jofra Archer is a big miss, as is Ben Stokes, but it’s a really strong squad.”
