ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Betting Guide: 8/1 Pakistan can come good in the Caribbean sun

The countdown to the start of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is under way. We’re about to give you the nuts and bolts of when and where it takes place, the format, which big teams missed out and where you can watch it on TV in the UK.

Crucially, the outright winner market is live on Betfred and waiting for business. India, Australia and England head the betting but a former winner at far bigger odds of 8/1 is where the value lies at first glance...

When, where and where on TV

The 2024 T20 World Cup will run between June 1 and June 29, 2024, jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA.

The opening match of the tournament will be played between co-hosts the USA, and Canada. Cricket history buffs will know that this is a repeat of the first-ever international cricket match, played way back in 1844 in Manhattan, New York.

There are nine different venues for the tournament: six in the West Indies and three in the USA.

Here are the nine, with the number of matches played at each one, in brackets. West Indies: Antigua and Barbuda (8), Barbados (9), Guyana (6), Saint Lucia (6), Saint Vincent and Grenadines (5), Trinidad and Tobago (5). USA: Florida (4), New York (8) and Texas (4).

Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana will each be hosting one of the semi-finals, while Barbados will have the honour of hosting the big final on June 29.

This is the second time a T20 World Cup will be staged in the West Indies after they did so in 2010, when England secured the first of their two T20 World Cup triumphs.

This is the first time ICC World Cup matches will be staged in the USA in either the T20 or ODI format.

All 55 matches will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket or Sky Sports Main Event.

Format

The number of teams taking part increased from 16 in 2022 to 20 for the 2024 edition.

They’ll be split into four groups of five teams. The Top 2 from each group then move onto the Super 8 stage where they’ll be divided into two mini-leagues, each made up of four teams, where they’ll then play a round-robin.

Once again, the Top 2 from each group will progress, this time to the semi-finals, with the winner of each semi going on to dispute the final.

The teams

All of the usual suspects are there. The West Indies, who missed out in the 2022 edition after finishing bottom of their group in the qualifying round, return. They automatically qualified by virtue of being hosts but would have qualified anyway as a result of currently being ranked 6 in the ICC T20I rankings.

Co-hosts the USA make their debut at a T20 World Cup alongside Uganda, while Papua New Guinea and Nepal each make just their second appearance at a T20 WC. For Oman and Namibia, it’s just their third time at a T20 World Cup.

The only Test-playing nation to be absent are Zimbabwe, who won’t be adding to their six T20 World Cup appearances. In the Africa Qualifiers, they finished behind Namibia and Uganda in the final round-robin stage, losing to both, despite winning their other four matches.

Stand-out matches from the first stage

This will be the fifth T20 WC tournament in a row where India and Pakistan will have been pitted against each other in the first group stage. India won three of the previous four with Pakistan’s sole success over this period coming in the 2021 edition, where they chased 152 with ease in the UAE. This time round they’ll be playing on June 9, in New York, in what is the second Group A match for both sides.

This isn’t just another big game. India v Pakistan is not only the biggest rivalry in cricket but arguably the biggest rivalry of all in international sport. Expect a packed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium and fervent support.

Over in Group B it’s Australia v England on June 8, with West Indies v New Zealand (June 12, Group C) and Sri Lanka v South Africa (June 3, Group D) other big matches to look out for.

Any notable absentees among the players?

England’s Ben Stokes has chosen to focus on preparing for Test match duties and opted out of playing for the defending champions after playing a starring role with the bat in the final last time out, thanks to a measured, unbeaten 52.

The West Indies’ Sunil Narine, who is having an excellent IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders with both bat and ball continues to not be involved for the hosts, having last played for them in a T20I back in 2019.

For India, fast bowler Mohammed Shami will be missing through injury. It’s a huge loss considering Shami was the top wicket-taker of the 2023 ODI World Cup with 24 scalps and this despite playing four matches fewer than some of his rivals. Just months earlier, he’d also been the top wicket-taker of the 2023 IPL.

Exciting Australian top-order hitter Jake Fraser McGurk. who has impressed for Delhi Capitals in the IPL this season, missed out, with the selectors opting for more experienced batsmen over the uncapped 22-year-old.

ICC T20 2024 World Cup Odds

*Please click on the link above for the latest betting prices on the ICC T20 2024 World Cup Winner market here with Betfred.

India head the betting at 3/1. It’s a familiar story of many feeling that the intensity and quality of the IPL prepares India for World Cups better than it does any other nation. The proof is in the pudding though: they have just one win and one runner-up spot to show for their efforts over the years in this competition.

2022 winners Australia (7/2) and defending champions England (4/1) are next in the betting followed by South Africa and their powerful middle-order at 11/2. The mercurial Pakistan (8/1), consistent New Zealand (8/1) and co-hosts and two-time winners the West Indies (9/1) can’t be discounted. Afghanistan (33/1) and Sri Lanka (40/1) come next and then we’re into proper outsider territory.

Early prices suggest the value bet is…

Pakistan at 8/1. The 2009 winners have made two further finals and will view the last two editions as World Cups they could easily have won.

They’ll have plenty of top-class spinners suited to West Indies conditions, boast in Babar Azam/Mohammad Rizwan one of the most prolific opening partnerships in the game and have genuine wicket-taking options in the fast bowling department in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and the fresh-out-of-international-retirement left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir.

Though they’re up against India in Group A in a match that could go either way, they should be too good for the likes of Canada, Ireland and the USA in their other matches. So irrespective of what happens against India, progression to the Super 8 stage should be a given.

Some may feel that the fact their players still can’t feature in the IPL for security reasons is a big hindrance. But maybe not. It’s given their players the chance to come into this tournament fresher than the somewhat jaded IPL stars of other countries, while it’s also given them the chance to have played two series (against New Zealand and England) as a team, something which no-one else would have done.

Jamie Pacheco predominantly covers Cricket for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out his Cricket Betting Tips, along with those from the rest of the team, at our Cricket hub page...