“In the view of Gavaskar, Lara, and Collingwood, these are the World Cup semi-finalists. Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian batter, does not believe that Pakistan, the runner-up of the last tournament, will make it to the semi-finals of the upcoming T20 World Cup. In plain words, he does not see Pakistan reaching the semi-finals.
Gavaskar agrees with another West Indies legend, Brian Lara, England’s Paul Collingwood, and Australia’s Tom Moody. Lara has included Afghanistan in his semi-final list.
To predict who will play in the semi-finals of the upcoming T20 World Cup, India’s broadcasting company Star Sports organized an event with 10 former cricketers. Besides Gavaskar and Lara, the list included – India’s Mohammad Kaif, Ambati Rayudu, S. Sreesanth, Australia’s Matthew Hayden, Tom Moody, Aaron Finch, England’s Paul Collingwood, and South Africa’s Chris Morris.
All 10 former cricketers have included India in their list of semi-finalists. The second highest number, 9, have placed England in the semi-finals. Morris did not include current champion England in the semi-finals.
Lara provided the biggest surprise in selecting the semi-finalists. Even though he did not include Pakistan, he sees Afghanistan in the final four. Along with Afghanistan, Lara has included India, England, and host West Indies in his semi-final list.
Like Lara, Collingwood, Hayden, Moody, and Finch, who were part of England’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2010, did not include Pakistan in the final four. Gavaskar has set up a semi-final lineup with India, Australia, England, and West Indies. The T20 World Cup, featuring 20 teams, will start on June 2nd and conclude with the final in Barbados on June 29th.
Cricket experts’ predictions for the T20 World Cup semi-finalists:
Sunil Gavaskar: India, Australia, England, West Indies
Brian Lara: India, England, West Indies, Afghanistan
Paul Collingwood: England, West Indies, Australia, India
Matthew Hayden: Australia, India, England, South Africa
Tom Moody: Australia, India, South Africa, England
Aaron Finch: India, Australia, England, West Indies
Chris Morris: India, South Africa, Pakistan, Australia
Ambati Rayudu: India, England, New Zealand, South Africa
Mohammad Kaif: India, Pakistan, Australia, England
S. Sreesanth: India, Pakistan, Australia, England”
