London: Former England captain Nasser Hussain has revealed the teams he thinks will battle it out in the final of next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup and just who is in line to claim Player of the Tournament honours.
And while Hussain believes England are well equipped to try and make it back-to-back titles under influential skipper Jos Buttler, the respected commentator is tipping South Africa to prove a surprise packet and win an inaugural ICC trophy.
"I haven't thought too much about this actually...but I'm going to go with South Africa," Hussain said as part of the Coke Believing is Magic series.
"England are reigning champions, but not playing particularly well at the moment. It's in the Caribbean and West Indies are going OK, then you have Pakistan, so can I choose all of these sides?" he questioned.
"I'm going to go for South Africa versus England in the final," Hussain said.
South Africa showed their prowess during the recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India as they reached the knockout stages of the event before losing to eventual champions Australia and could be boosted by the return of key pace duo Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala for the T20 event scheduled for the middle of next year, an ICC report said.
Hussain also pointed to the emergence of South Africa's domestic T20 competition in being a major factor in the recent on-field improvement from the Proteas.
"I'm following (fellow commentator) Simon Doull a little bit here,” Hussain began.
“Before the 50-over World Cup he tipped them to win it and it was a little bit left field. I mean, it's still South Africa, one of the great cricketing nations, sporting nations, but I thought that was a good shout from Doully. And they played some brilliant cricket in that World Cup," he said.
"I think their domestic SA20 competition has really elevated some of their players and they have now got that depth and that class and that talent," Hussain said.
“I don't know where he is with his injury at the moment, but someone like Anrich Nortje is what they were missing maybe in those vital games, towards the end of the World Cup," he said.
"So I think maybe if Nortje can get fit for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and with their dynamic batting line-up, I'm going to look for South Africa," Hussain said.
And while South Africa have a host of talented white-ball performers that could easily land the Player of the Tournament award at next year's T20 World Cup, Hussain is predicting the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world to add to his already bulging resume and claim the coveted prize.
"The person for the world to watch out for at the moment in T20 is Suryakumar Yadav,” Hussain said.
"I mean, the bloke is a freak. The cliche of Mr.360, but some of the shots he plays…and he is a bit of a freak because in fifty-overs cricket, he doesn't quite know when to go, when not to go, what to do," he said.
"But in T20 cricket, he absolutely knows what to do every single time almost, and it's a fun game, T20 cricket and watching SKY, that is absolutely fun," Hussain added. (UNI)
