India and Pakistan have been placed in Group A, along with Ireland and T20 World Cup debutants USA and Canada.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has implied that putting India, Australia, England and Pakistan in favourable groups is a marketing strategy used for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. India and Pakistan are together in Group A, along with Ireland (rank 11) and two T20 World Cup debutants: USA and Canada. Australia and England, meanwhile, have been grouped with Scotland (rank 13), Namibia (rank 14) and Oman (rank 19), making it a relatively straightforward path to the Super 8 stage for the giants.
Speaking in a video uploaded on his own YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra spoke about the group-making dynamics.
“Logically, Scotland shouldn’t trouble England that much. (Group B) has Australia and England, and Scotland are the third biggest team. So the understanding has been kept that qualifying becomes certain,” he said, in a preview of the England-Scotland encounter on June 4.
“India and Pakistan are also in such a (favourable) group. This is pure economics. You want your main teams to progress,” he added.
Chopra mentioned that the strategy aims to negate the possibility of upsets for the favourites. As a result, the likes of South Africa and Sri Lanka have been drawn with Bangladesh and Netherlands, where there is a higher chance of an unpredictable result.
In fact, Sri Lanka are already on the back foot, having been blown away by South Africa in their opening Group D game, leaving the door wide open for Bangladesh or Netherlands to sneak into the top 2.
Speaking further on England’s chances, Chopra mentioned that the defending T20 World Cup champions have good depth in both batting and bowling.
“Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali – they have a very deep batting lineup. It will be enjoyable to see how they perform,” said Chopra.
He said that England stand a good chance of going the distance again, having kept most of their squad from their title-winning year. However, how they interpret and playing according to the conditions will play a huge role in their chances.
