2024 T20 World Cup Betting Tips: Winner, top batter and top bowler all revealed

With the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) behind us, the attention of the cricketing world turns to the Caribbean and the United States for the T20 World Cup.

The Contenders

India - 3.65

As usual, India occupy the favourite slot for an ICC white-ball tournament. In the last six white-ball (50-over and T20) World Cups, India have only failed to reach the semi-finals or final once. However, they haven’t won any, most notably failing on home soil when they lost to Australia in the 50-over World Cup final in November last year. In doing so, they became the first team not to win their home 50-over World Cup since West Indies in 2007.

For the last few years, India’s issue has been trying to blend their experienced players with the exciting young talent coming through. They are still led by Rohit Sharma, and the squad still features Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. In fact, Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only one of India’s young guns to make it to the tournament. 

In the Caribbean, most of the pitches are expected to be slow, low and susceptible to spin which puts India, with their battery of spin options, at an advantage. Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja all operate at the highest level. However, some pitches will be fast and hard so it is important to have the ability to change your line-up to suit conditions. India definitely have that variety.

Australia - 5.0

Australia come into this tournament knowing that a win will mean they are holding every major trophy in the men’s and women’s game. Not a bad place to start. They are also no strangers to winning this tournament - emerging triumphant in 2021. 

Thanks to their success in last year’s 50-over World Cup, a lot of the Australian players were highly sought after by Indian Premier League teams, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc both going for record amounts in the auction. That means that they come into this tournament having played nothing but T20 cricket for the past two and a half months.

The big decision facing the Australian selectors was whether or not to include Jake Fraser-McGurk. The young opening bat has burst onto the domestic scene with a string of stunning performances first in the BigBash and now the IPL. He didn’t make the cut with the Aussies preferring to have the experience of David Warner. 

England - 7.0

The reigning champions will be desperate to do a better job of defending their crown then they did at last year’s 50-over World Cup. Despite not having any of the same players it is worth noting that the last time the T20 World Cup was held in the Caribbean, 2010, England came out on top. Jos Buttler’s men are currently involved in a rain-affected warm-up series against Pakistan before they fly off to the Caribbean. 

There is no questioning the power in England’s batting line-up, Buttler, Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow have the ability to take the game away from anyone in a heartbeat. It is in bowling where England have struggled in recent times, Chris Jordan and Reece Topley are not as effective as they once were. However, the return of Jofra Archer has given England an added X factor. 

Since the 2019 World Cup, Archer has been plagued with injuries and has struggled to string together a series of matches. With the demands of a World Cup, he will probably not feature in every game but when at his best he is arguably the best T20 white-ball bowler on the planet.

West Indies - 8.2

The hosts and two-time champions look good value at 8.2. While they are going backwards in 50-over and Test cricket, they are still a force in the shortest format. In the lead-up to this tournament, they beat South Africa 3-0 in a warm-up series and in December they beat England 3-2 in a five-match series. On their winter tour of Australia, they lost the series 2-1 but demonstrated the power of their batting line-up, scoring over 200 runs in each match.

The lack of financial muscle from their cricket board often means their best players choose to play franchise cricket rather than representing their country, however the prospect of a home World Cup has been enough to lure them back. Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran are some of the world’s best in this format. 

Home advantage tends to have a big impact on cricket and of the last four 50-over World Cups, three of them have been won by the hosts. But that doesn’t seem to translate to T20 with no host nation coming out on top in its eight editions.

South Africa - 8.6

South Africa are the only leading cricketing nation to have never won an ICC tournament. It is a significant blot on their copy book. They have reached the semi-final stage of ICC tournaments on seven occasions but have never progressed to a final. This understandably makes them difficult to back.

However, they showed during the last year’s 50-over World Cup that they have one of the most powerful batting line-ups in the sport with Quinton de Kock, Aidan Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs all capable of taking a bowling attack down.

They also have a strong bowling attack with the raw pace of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje through to the mystery spin of Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjoirn Fortuin. 

Recommended Bet: West Indies @ 8.2

For me, India are too short and while there is no doubting their talent, I struggle to see this generation getting over the line in a major tournament. I can see Australia’s lack of ability to score runs efficiently against spin bowling causing them serious problems in the Super 8 phase and I don’t think England have the ability with the ball to win the tournament. They are going to be very dependent on Archer to provide a point of difference but his fitness is a major concern.

Therefore at a decent price, I am torn between West Indies and South Africa but the fact the Windies have just beaten them 3-0 means I am going to back the joint-hosts.

They are a serious side with plenty of options with both ball and bat from superstars to unsung heroes. They also have a great understanding of how conditions and styles of play will change depending on the ground. In a sport where home advantage matters so much it seems an odd quirk that no host nation has won this competition - that could change this time.

Leading Batter: Travis Head @ 12.0

For the last 12 months, the Australian has been one of, if not the, best batter in the world in all formats. His performances in the ICC Test Championship Final, Ashes series, World Cup Final and IPL were all incredible. 

The left-hander opened the batting for Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL and scored 567 runs at a strike rate of 191. On a fast and bouncy pitch, he has the ability to take games away from teams but also the experience and know-how to steer an innings on a slow and low wicket with the pressure on.

Leading wicket-taker: Jasprit Bumrah @ 6.8

While I do think spin will be incredibly important in this tournament, it is hard to look past Bumrah. He has all the tools a fast bowler could possibly want when it comes to being effective with a white ball; raw pace, awkward run-up, slower ball, swing both ways, bouncer and yorker. 

Importantly for this, he is likely to bowl all his four overs in each game and bowl at the start and end of an innings where batters are looking to take the most risks, therefore presenting Bumrah with more wicket-taking opportunities.

Recommended Bets

Back West Indies to win 2024 T20 World Cup @ 8.20
Back Travis Head to be leading batter @ 12.0
Back Jasprit Bumrah to be leading wicket-taker @ 6.6