With only a couple of days to go before the super 12 stage of the ICC men's T20 World Cup 2021 begins on Saturday, the excitement is rising. Former cricketers and experts around the globe have shared their thoughts on the ICC event. Former West Indies pacer and now a renowned broadcaster Ian Bishop was the latest to join the bandwagon. Bishop said there are a lot of contenders but named England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies among the favourites.
‘We have to be realistic, there are lots of contenders,'' former West Indies bowler Bishop told Betway.
The former pacer then went on to identify the strengths of England, India, New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan.
"England have got guys who are aggressive with the bat. India have stars throughout their line-up. New Zealand are beginning to hit more boundaries and have a dangerous bowling attack. Pakistan are dangerous with the ball.
"But the West Indies have so much experience now, so I have my fingers crossed that they can go well," Bishop said.
{{/usCountry}}"But the West Indies have so much experience now, so I have my fingers crossed that they can go well," Bishop said.
{{/usCountry}}Bishop also narrated the story behind his famous "Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!" chant in the commentary box when the tall all-rounder had hit four sixes off Ben Stokes in the last over to help West Indies clinch the last edition of the T20 World Cup.
"One of the questions posed was which players we should look forward to watching in the final, beyond the obvious guys like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo,’ Bishop added.
"I wasn’t the lead commentator at the time, it was David Lloyd. I was just waiting to see how the action played out and then David tapped me on the shoulder and said: “Please, you go ahead”.
"Carlos Brathwaite came to my mind because in that World Cup he’d been bowling well and he could smack the ball. I said to the guy: Carlos Brathwaite is a good all-round cricketer, remember that name.
"When he hit the final six, the first thing that regurgitated was what I’d said to that gentleman," he said.