Dubai, Oct 15: Former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has said that with no team being a clear favourite to win the trophy, it has made the ICC T20 World Cup extremely exciting. The tournament starts on October 17 in Muscat and ends on November 14 in Dubai.
“The most exciting thing about the T20 World Cup 2021 is that there are no clear favourites. Coming into the competition in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, it feels like there is no standout side and as a result, any one of a large number of teams could end up lifting the trophy,” wrote Muralitharan in his column for the ICC on Friday.
Muralitharan believes that the power-play overs will be crucial for the teams, irrespective of batting or bowling first.
“The crucial factor will be the first six overs. That is what teams need to focus on, whether they are batting or bowling. I think that 70 to 80 per cent of the game depends on those first six overs and the result comes down to how well you do in that period.
“People will look at the latter overs and, of course they are important too, but if you don’t get it right at the start, there is so little time to catch up. It’s not like a one-day game or a Test match, everything comes down to getting a good start. That is part of the reason that I think the World Cup is wide open.”