In a matter of days, 20 nations will compete for T20 World Cup glory in the United States and the West Indies. In the ninth year of the tournament, experienced and debutant captains will compete for the ICC crown. England captain Jos Buttler will defend England’s T20 title in 2022 as he leads England for the second consecutive year. Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Marsh have won the tournament as players and will now look to add another as the team’s leader. On the other hand, captains including Kane Williamson and Babar Azam have previously led their team to the tournament’s finals but have never won a T20 tournament. They will also be looking to impress in the West Indies and the US.
Meet the captains of the 20 participating teams in the T20 World Cup –
Group A
India – Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma will lead India’s campaign for a second T20I crown. He had previously won the tournament in 2007 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The former Mumbai Indians captain had 417 starts in 14 matches this IPL season.
Pakistan – Babar Azam
Babar Azam will once again return to ICC action as Pakistan’s captain. He recently delivered some stellar hitting in a 2-1 series win. Babar captained the 2009 winners in the final in the previous edition against England, but his team lost by five wickets.
Canada – Saad Bin Zafar
Pakistani-origin Canadian all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar will lead the debuting Canadian team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Saad has played over 38 T20I matches, scoring 272 runs and scalping 43 wickets.
Ireland – Paul Stirling
Ireland veteran Paul Stirling will lead the nation in the Under-20 Men’s World Cup. Stirling appeared in 142 T20Is for Iran. He collected 3589 runs and 20 wickets in these matches.
United States of America – Monank Patel
The co-hosts of the World Cup in the United States will be led by their 31-year-old batsman Monank Patel. The American batsman has played 25 T20I matches for USA and scored 441 runs.
Group B
Australia – Mitchell Marsh
Australia will be led by Mitchell Marsh at the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Australian all-rounder will be looking to make amends for his team’s failure in the 2022 edition of the tournament, where they failed to make the knockout stages despite playing on home soil.
Team England – Jos Buttler
England veteran Jos Buttler will lead his team’s defense in the T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA. Buttler has been in good form in IPL 2024, scoring two centuries and scoring 359 runs.
Namibia – Gerhard Erasmus
Gerhard Erasmus will lead an experienced Namibia team at the T20 World Cup. They qualified for the tournament thanks to an unbeaten run in last year’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in Africa. Erasmus will compete alongside his vice-captain JJ Smith.
Oman – Aqib Ilyas
Aqib Ilyas has replaced his former captain Zeeshan Maqsood as Oman’s new captain for the T20 World Cup. The 31-year-old recently spoke to the ICC about how honored he was to be handed the new role. His goal will be to lead his team to several victories in the premier tournament.
Scotland – Richie Berrington
Richie Berrington will captain a wild Scotland team at the World Cup. The Scots will be looking to improve on their performance from last year. They recorded a famous win over the West Indies in that campaign.
Group C
New Zealand – Kane Williamson
One of New Zealand’s all-time greats Kane Williamson has been named captain of the Kiwi team at the World Cup. Williamson previously led New Zealand to the 2021 World Cup final where they failed to get past Australia.
West Indies – Rovman Powell
Rovman Powell will lead West Indies in the World Cup in the absence of Jason Holder. Powell has not had the best of IPL campaigns this season and will be looking to make a comeback at the upcoming ICC event.
Afghanistan – Rashid Khan
Afghanistan’s star all-rounder Rashid Khan will look to perform in West Indies and USA. With the support of Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, he will lead the spin department of his side.
Uganda – Brian Masaba
Brian Masaba has been appointed to lead the Uganda team for the T20 World Cup. He will be represented by Riazat Ali Shah. Masaba played 59 T20Is for Uganda, scoring 435 runs and taking 19 wickets.
Papua New Guinea – Assad Vala
Assad Vala, who led Papua New Guinea to the 2021 World Cup, will once again lead the Barramundis in the upcoming tournament. He helped his side secure a place in the West Indies/USA World Cup in the East Asia Pacific Regional Final to be played in July 2023.
Group D
South Africa – Aiden Markram
Aiden Markram will play his first ever ICC tournament as South Africa’s captain in the T20 World Cup. Markram has scored 1118 runs and 10 wickets in 39 T20Is for the Proteas.
Sri Lanka – Wanindu Hasaranga
Wanindu Hasaranga, who was named T20I captain in Sri Lanka in December last year, will lead the 2012 World Cup winners West Indies and USA. Hasranaga boasts 104 wickets and 650 runs for Sri Lanka in 65 T20Is.
Bangladesh – Najmul Hossain Shanto
Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has been named the captain of Bangladesh across all formats, will lead his team in the T20 World Cup 2024. Hossain will lead his team into the tournament after a solid 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe.
Nepal – Rohit Paudel
Rohit Paudel will lead Nepal in the 2024 FIFA World Cup T20I. At the age of 21, Paudel has amassed 1108 runs for his nation in just 49 matches. He also scored five goals in these matches.
Netherlands – Scott Edwards
