Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has predicted that India and Australia could face each other in the final of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The 1983 World Cup winning player feels England and South Africa will be the other semifinalists.
India are in red-hot form as they recently defeated New Zealand by 4-1 in a five-match series at home.
Earlier, India won the T20I series against England, Australia and South Africa. Since the start of 2025, India has lost only four T20Is and they would look to carry the good show in the upcoming T20I showpiece.
On the other hand, South Africa are also in good form. The Proteas recently registered a 2-1 series win against the West Indies while playing at home.
Australia suffered a 3-0 series loss against Pakistan but didn’t play with their full-strength team.
“I think India, England, South Africa, and Australia will play the semifinals. I think the finals should be between India and Australia. They will be the closest competitor to India. If these two play the final, it will be deadly,” Srikkanth said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.
Srikkanth said Australia has a quality team and they can be a force to reckon with in the T20I showpiece.
“Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Maxwell, and Green. If any two of these five getting going, they have a powerhouse batting just like India, in all fairness. But there is no scope in their bowling. Having many all-rounders is their biggest advantage. But with no Hazlewood, all the others will get hit in India. Zampa and Hazlewood are brilliant. There is no one else who is a gun bowler. Batting and all-rounders is their biggest strength. They can put up 200. But whether they can defend 200 or chase 200 consistently is a question,” he stated.
The former Indian opener said he would back all-rounder Cooper Connolly in Australia’s playing XI.
“I will play Cooper. I even picked him for CSK in our mock auctions. When India went to Australia, he even won a game for them against us. This guy is a good player. Maybe his strike rate may not be good now, but he is a good player, as he won a game against us,” he said.
Australia would begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on 11th February at Colombo.
