The 2022 T20 World Cup promises to be a classic as 16 of the top international teams gear up for the mega event in Australia. While the previous edition of the tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place where the ball hardly comes onto the bat, Australian pitches will offer a lot of pace and bounce which will make pacers crucial in the mega event.
Keeping the pitch conditions in view, the majority of the sides have decided to go with pace-heavy squads as they look to trouble the opposition batting unit with speed and bounce. The likes of Mitchell Starc, Shaheen Afridi, Trent Boult, Mark Wood, and Kagiso Rabada, along with several other speed guns will showcase their talents as the teams battle it out for the crown of the T20 world champions.
Let’s have a look at the pace attacks of the top international teams in the 2022 T20 World Cup and analyze how much of an impact they will have.
Afghanistan, generally known for their world-class spin bowlers, have opted to include a total of five pace bowling options in their squad. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmed, and Naveen ul Haq are the three frontline pacers in the team while Azmatullah Omarzai will provide the fourth seam bowling option. They have also called up Salim Safi for the first time in his career, adding a fifth pace bowling option to the team.
Despite possessing five pacers in their squad, Afghanistan’s pace attack looks one of the least threatening among the other participating teams.
Rating — 5/10
The Kangaroos have one of the most potent bowling attacks in world cricket. A pace bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood is certainly one of the most well-rounded pace attacks in world cricket. Couple that with the medium pace of Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis and it makes Australia one of the most exciting bowling line-ups in the tournament. Kane Richardson also provides a more than capable backup for the rest of the bowling unit.
Australia, if not the best, is certainly one of the best pace attacks in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Rating — 9/10
Bangladesh has failed to impress in the shortest format of the game recently. The Bangla Tigers have been on a downward spiral over the past few years with much of it down to their poor batting performances. Bangladesh has been heavily reliant on their spin bowling options to dig them out on a number of occasions while the fast bowling has failed to inspire. Despite the predicament, Bangladesh has opted to take five fast bowling options for the World Cup. Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, and Mohammad Saifuddin are the four frontline pacers while Hasan Mahmud will provide a medium bowling option as well.
The Tigers do possess a T20 specialist in the form of Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed’s form of late is a positive, but they still fall short in comparison to other teams.
Rating — 6/10
England heads into the 2022 T20 World Cup with one of the most exciting T20 squads. As for the pace attack, England has seven fast bowling options including express pacer, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Reece Topley, Sam Curran, David Willey, and Ben Stokes. On paper, the pace attack looks threatening with plenty of depth in bowling options but still lacks one express pacer along with Mark Wood.
They possess one of the most exciting pace attacks in the tournament and will be the ones to watch in the mega event.
Rating — 8/10
India was dealt a blow ahead of the tournament as their star pacer, Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament after suffering yet another injury. It is expected that one of Mohamed Shami or Deepak Chahar will replace Bumrah in the squad as the Indian team management looks for a like-for-like replacement for their star bowler. Bumrah’s absence will put a lot of pressure on an otherwise inexperienced bowling unit of Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya.
India’s pace attack looks uninspiring and is a cause of caution for the Men in Blue.
Rating — 7/10
The experience of Trent Boult and Tim Southee alongside the express pace of Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne makes New Zealand’s attack one of the most threatening in the tournament. New Zealand’s pace attack will be crucial for the team in its bid to qualify for the semi-finals of the mega event. Their pace attack is a well-rounded one that includes a left-arm seamer, a new ball right-arm bowler, and exciting speed guns.
Rating — 9/10
The Men in Green will be welcoming star pacer, Shaheen Afridi, to their already star-studded pace attack. Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jr., and Shaheen Afridi make a fearsome fast bowling unit. The bowling attack has all the bases covered including new ball bowlers, death-over specialists, and express pace. Pakistan’s hopes of moving on to the next round heavily relies on the performances of fast bowlers.
The Green Shirts’ pace attack is certainly one of the best in the T20 World Cup.
Rating — 9/10
Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, and Lungi Ngidi make up a strong fast bowling unit for South Africa. The Proteas have been resurgent in T20 cricket and much of it has been down to their strong bowling attack. Nortje’s blistering pace along with Rabada’s accuracy makes South Africa a dangerous bowling unit.
The Proteas possess one of the most potent bowling attacks in the tournament.
Rating — 8/10
Sri Lanka will be heading into the tournament with two of their most experienced pacers, Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara, back into the squad. Both bowlers possess express pace and will inspire the entire bowling unit of the current Asian champions. Chameera and Kumara along with Chamika Karunaratne, Pramod Madushan, and Dilshan Madushanka make up a solid fast bowling unit for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka would have been in trouble if Chameera and Kumara were unable to take part in the competition.
Rating — 7/10
West Indies picked six pacers in the 15-man squad. Obed Mccoy, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, and Odean Smith are the pacers available for the side for the 2022 T20 World Cup. They do possess some serious pace in the shape of Alzarri Joseph and the experience of Sheldon Cottrell and Jason Holder will also come in handy on bouncy pitches.
West Indies possess a decent enough pace attack to trouble the opposition.
Rating — 7/10
How would you rate the pace attacks of the teams in the 2022 T20 World Cup? Write your suggestions in the comments!
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