Early odds make India number 1 favorite to win T20 World Cup

According to oddsmakers, such a scenario looks very plausible. All the online sportsbooks where it's possible to bet on cricket have made India the #1 title favourite, followed by England, Australia, and West Indies.

Team India Favored to Win the T20 World Cup Again After 14 Years

The odds of India winning the T20 World Cup are currently 3.50. This makes the Men in Blue the #1 favourite for the trophy.

If they do it, it's going to be their first title in this competition in 14 years. The story goes that the Indian cricket team won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. The tournament took place in South Africa, and India won the trophy after beating Pakistan in the final.

In the following three tournaments, India failed to do much. In fact, they were stopped in Round 2 each time. In the fifth T20 World Cup in history, India finished as the runner-up, losing to Sri Lanka in the Final.

In their most recent World Cup, the Indian cricket team reached the semifinal stage. Not winning the 2016 tournament came as a sort of a surprise, considering that India was the host nation.

Five years later, India's finest cricketers have no intention of letting another trophy slipping from their hands. They have a fantastic team led by legendary batsman Virat Kohli, who's their current captain.

England is Lurking Just Behind

England was the team to win the third edition of the T20 World Cup. It happened in 2010, three years after India won their trophy. Since then, they haven't done much, although we did see them reaching the final in the 2016 tournament.

What's giving their fans optimism that they can claim another title is that their squad looks even stronger than five years ago. Proof of this is that England is the highest-ranked in the ICC's T20I Rankings.

Oddsmakers, however, don't see England as the main favourite. They're trailing behind India at the moment, albeit only slightly. The odds of England winning the 2021 T20 World Cup are currently somewhere around 4.00.

Next WC Host is 3rd Favorite

Australia is a team that's still without a title in the T20 World Cup. Bookmakers think of them as third-favourites for this year's trophy, with the odds of 5.50.

Although Australia is far from being a bad team, they just don't look as strong as the two previously discussed teams. In fact, they're currently #5 in the ICC Rankings.

The good news for their fans is that Australia might not have to wait too long to get their first T20 World Cup title. The thing is that the next year's tournament is taking place in Australia.

Considering that they have some up-and-coming players in the squad, Australians have nothing to worry about their future. Plus, their best players (Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, David Warner, etc.) are still in their early 30s, so it's very likely they will feature in the 2022 World Cup.

Reigning Champion Comes to UAE as #4 Favorite

The West Indies national team is the only one that's won the T20 World Cup more than once. They did it the first time in 2012, while their second trophy came in 2016. This makes West Indies the reigning champs.

What's got to worry their fans is that most of the players who won those two trophies are either retired or are in their late thirties. In fact, West Indies is one of the not-too-many teams that have a 41-year-old in the squad. The man in question is Jamaican batsman Chris Gayle.

All this explains why West Indies' position in the ICC T20I Ranking is #9. The ICC might think this team's not among the best four, but oddsmakers disagree. In their eyes, the West Indies cricket team is the fourth betting favourite at 8.00.

Other teams that stand a decent chance of winning the 2021 T20 World Cup include New Zealand (9.00), Pakistan (9.00), and South Africa (13.00). The odds on each of the remaining teams are longer than 40.00, with Namibia being the biggest underdog at 1501.00.