Australia spin great Shane Warne said that the England cricket team and the Indian cricket team have to go in as favourites for the ICC men’s T20 World Cup that is being played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. While India will open its T20 World Cup campaign again arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai, England will kick off its campaign against the West Indies on October 23.

However, Warne said that the Australian cricket team is being taken lightly and is being underestimated as they have “a lot of match winners in their squad.”

The other teams that he mentioned that can make a mark in the tournament and make matters difficult for the opposition are New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies. “Excited to see who will win,” Shane Warne tweeted.

Warne, a leg-spin legend, spoke of David Warner and Eoin Morgan‘s poor form and backed them to perform well in the tournament.

“Whoever wants to write of @davidwarner31 & @Eoin16 re their lack of form. Remember class is permanent & form is temporary – don’t be surprised if one of these players will be player of the tournament #ICCT20WorldCup2021 ! Who will win followers ?” Warne tweeted.

Australia will open its T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

As for India, former Australia pacer Brett Lee had earlier said that India’s KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami could emerge as the top run-getter and the leading wicket-taker, respectively, in the T20 World Cup Super 12s.

“I think India are probably the favourites with their top four or five batters and their bowling attack. I have KL Rahul down as the top run-scorer in the tournament and Mohammed Shami to be the leading wicket-taker, purely going on the last few months,” Lee wrote in his column for ICC.

“So if they deliver and India have one of the leading run-scorers and wicket-takers, it’s a good start.”