Indians firm as Aussies float in ICC World T20 market

INDIA is now the raging favourite to take out the ICC World T20 on its home soil after it crushed Australia in its recent series Down Under.

WilliamHill.com.au has the Indians at $3.40 to take it all out, with the Australians now floating out to $6 after they were once around the $5 mark.

South Africa and England, currently battling each other in a series of their own, are equal $7 favourites with the bookie, while on the next line of betting, the West Indies and New Zealand are both rated $8 chances.

Pakistan, at $11 and Sri Lanka at $13 are the only other teams given a hope, with Bangladesh the next best at $51, all the way out to Oman, rank outsider at $5001. That means they’re giving it a chance.

The love for the Indians has plenty to do with their performances on Australian Soil.

In a remarkable effort, the Indians, fresh off getting whacked in the five match one day series, came out in the T20s blazing and won back a little respect after a 3-0 white wash.

The great Sachin Tendulkar says his country possesses the best T20 team in the world and it is hard to argue with the little master.

And he says that means they should win the World T20, lumping the pressure on MS Dhoni and his side.

“I think we have the best side in the world right now,” Tendulkar said.

“In T20s, the way we have played we are the most balanced team.

“We can go all the way to win the T20 World Cup.”

The Aussies, conversely, drifted because of that effort, but they are set to receive a heavy boost in their bowling stocks.

There’s nothing official out of cricket Australia yet, but the likes of Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Coulter-Nile are set to be included in the 15 man squad, likely to be announced some time today.

it also appears Aaron Finch’s gammy hammy will have him laid up through the tournament, handing the captaincy reigns to Steve Smith.

“Aaron had scans on his injured left hamstring that confirmed a moderate grade hamstring injury. This is not a recurrence of the previous hamstring injury that required surgery in April 2015,” team physio Alex Kountouris said.

“Although this current injury doesn’t require surgery there is a period of rehabilitation required before he can resume playing.

”We are aiming to have Aaron fit for the ICC World T20 in India but will have a better idea about his fitness for that tournament in the coming weeks once we see how he responds to treatment and a rehabilitation program.“

Do the Australians play enough T20 cricket? That Indian series in January was the first short form game they had since September last year – a once off fizzer. They have played only eight T20 matches since the last T20 World Cup, two years ago.

You would think Khawaja would be guaranteed a spot, after the farce that kept him out against India and the first one dayer against the Kiwis in New Zealand.

The English and South Africa will warm up with a pair of T20s against each other.

The Poms don’t play the short form stuff all that well, but they do have access to a guy who does.

Problem is they refuse to pick him.

But, If we were selecting, superstar batsman Kevin Pietersen would be the first man picked.

“The truth is, I would absolutely love to play for England,” Pietersen recently wrote.

“I feel I am in the best form of my life and it would be an honour to represent the country alongside the fantastic group of players we have got in our side.

KP probably won’t get the nod, but West Indies fans will be rejoicing.

They will finally get to see a team of stars, rather than the bunch of park cricketers that recently got whacked in Australia, with the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Samuel Badree all selected in the side.

This bunch doesn’t really play real cricket well, but the T20 stuff is their bread and butter. All four men dominated the Big Bash League and make for an intriguing smokey selection at $8.

Just on the cricket, no one likes Watson, right?

Well, he has just had the last laugh, snapped up in the Indian Premier League auctions for a ridiculous sum of nearly $2 million by new franchise Bangalore.

It’s hard to believe, but Watson is a coveted man, with his perceived ability with both bat and ball.

On the other side, it is remarkable that the Big Bash League form of Usman Khawaja didn’t translate to a first round bid in the IPL auctions.

Don’t they have TVs that project the Big Bash to India?

This guy is the best T20 batsman in the world and he can’t get a gig in the puny Indian Premier League?

Remarkable stuff.

Speaking of remarkable stuff, another Aussie all rounder who has as many nay sayers as he does supporters, Mitch Marsh, has secured almost $1 million out of new IPL franchise the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Not bad coin if you can get it.

There were several others who won smaller deals, but here’s a list of the other Aussies who managed to win big deals:

Shane Watson to Bangalore ($1.96 million)

Mitch Marsh to Pune ($990,000)

Kane Richardson to Bangalore ($416,000)

John Hastings to Kolkata ($268,000)

Aaron Finch to Gujarat ($208,000)

2016 ICC World T20 winners market

India ($3.40)

Australia ($6)

South Africa ($7)

England ($7)

West Indies ($8)

New Zealand ($8)

Pakistan ($11)

Sri Lanka ($13)

Bangladesh ($51)

Zimbabwe ($201)

Ireland ($301)

Afghanistan ($751)

Netherlands ($1001)

Scotland ($1001)

Hong Kong ($2001)

Oman ($5001)

Odds provided by WilliamHill.com.au