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Betting guide for the 2020 Twenty20 World Cup

Held every four years, the Twenty20 World Cup is fast becoming one of the most popular tournaments in cricket.

The 2020 incarnation will be held in Australia — the first time the country has hosted the T20 tournament.

The first match of the tournament will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on March 9.

The final will be played on April 3 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

2020 Twenty20 World Cup venues

Teams, odds and thoughts on tournament prospects

For just the second time in the tournament’s history, the World Cup will feature 16 teams.

All 10 full members of the International Cricket Council – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, The West Indies and Zimbabwe – qualify for the tournament automatically.

The other six associate nations – Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman – found their way into the tournament via the 2015 World Twenty20 qualifier, which was played in Ireland and Scotland in July.

India

The home nation – despite being ranked outside the top five Twenty20 nations in the world – will go into the tournament as the favourite.

India’s captain Virat Kohli will enter, barring injury, as the second ranked batsman in the world in the shortest form of the game, while Ravi Ashwin will enter as the fifth best bowler in international Twenty20 cricket.

Australia

Ranked third in the world, the Australians will go into the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup as one of the favourites to take out the title.

Aussie batsman Aaron Finch, who is no certainty to be picked in the team after being dumped as captain in favour of Steve Smith, is ranked no.1 in the world while Mitchell Starc is the seventh best bowler, according to the ICC ratings.

South Africa

The South Africans have struggled in the shortest form of the game, with a third place their best finish since the tournament’s inception.

The Proteas’ form has been much better since the 2014 tournament in Bangladesh and loom as one of the strongest chances to take out the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup. An important factor when punting on the Proteas is whether they have a strong enough spin bowling department. With the tournament to be played on the sub continent it could blunt the Proteas explosive pace bowling battery, which is lead by Dale Steyn.

England

2010 winners England will enter the 2016 tournament believing they truly have what it takes to be the first nation to win two Twenty20 World Cups.

With two batsman ranked inside the top 10 of the ICC Twenty20 rankings – Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan – the English will be relying on their strong batting line up to be competitive in the subcontinent.

The burning question just six weeks out from the tournament is will the English selectors take a bit of humble pie and recall controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen after his brilliant for in the Big Bash League, during the Australian summer.

Sri Lanka

The reigning champions and number one ranked team in the world Sri Lanka incredibly sit at $8 outsiders to go back-to-back in 2016.

With two batsman and three bowlers inside the top 10 in the world rankings, Sri Lanka’s value of $8.00 looks to be overs heading into 2016.

New Zealand

After making their first ever World Cup final early in 2015 in the One Day International format, New Zealand will be looking to transfer that form to the Twenty20 arena over in India.

Martin Guptill is ranked inside the top ten T20 batsmen and skipper Kane Williamson is the form batsman in world cricket. The bowlers are equally as equipped with Trent Boult and Tim southee, complementing Ish Sodhi, who was a match-winner in the Kiwis ODI series victory over Australia.

The big blow is the retirement of ex-skipper Brendon McCallum, who despite outstanding recent form, has opted to retire after the New Zealand summer.

West Indies

The 2012 champions the West Indies will go into the 2016 World Cup as the second ranked team in the world and as a real contender.

With the enigmatic Chris Gayle amongst their ranks and one of the strongest bowling line ups in Twenty20 world cricket, the men in maroon will be right in in the mix at the conclusion of the tournament.

Pakistan

The inaugural winners of the Twenty20 World Cup will go into the tournament ranked ahead of the favourites India. In the eyes of the bookies though, Pakistan will go in as the least likely out of all the major teams to take out the title in 2016.

With no batsman ranked inside the top 10, Pakistan will struggle to put scores on the board, but with the explosive Shahid Afridi still in their ranks, they will remain a dangerous team throughout the tournament.

Other teams in the tournament

Bangladesh

Ireland

Zimbabwe

Netherlands

Scotland

Oman

Afghanistan

Hong Kong

All outright futures betting odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au

Best places to bet on the ICC Twenty20 World Cup

Well into the 10s of millions is expected to be punted on the tournament right around the globe and as always Australia is expected to be at the forefront of betting throughout the tournament. BettingSite.com.au will be there every step throughout the tournament and vows to bring you the latest news and promos from regulated Australian online bookmakers.

Big 6 T20 bookies: