The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be the ninth edition of this international tournament, and it will run between June 1st and June 29th 2024, in the United States and the West Insides.
This will be the biggest-ever iteration of the T20 World Cup, which has been expanded to include 20 teams who will contest 55 matches across the Group, Super 8s and Knockout stages.
India are the unsurprising favourite to win in 2024 as the nation goes in search of its second such title. But what’s the history of this tournament, and will any of the previous winners prevail again this year?
The Rise of T20 Cricket and the 20-Over World Cup
It was the ECB marketing manager Stuart Robertson who first proposed the T20 format in 2001, with the board subsequently voting 11-7 in favour of hosting 20-over per innings games and tournaments.
This made England the home of T20 cricket, with the first domestic matches taking place on June 13th, 2003, as part of the ‘T20 Blast’ competition. The first tournament was a huge success, prompting other cricketing boards from around the world to create their own competitions (such as Pakistan’s National T20 Cup and ‘Stanford 20/20’ in the West Indies).
The first T20 international was contested between Australia and New Zealand on February 17th, 2005, with the Baggy Greens prevailing by 44 runs after making 214-5 in their 20 overs.
A little over two years later, the inaugural T20 World Cup took place in South Africa, with India winning this 12-team tournament after beating bitter rivals Pakistan in the final. It’s interesting to note that the 2024 edition will feature eight more competing sides and more than twice as many games, with Papua New Guinea, Canada, Nepal, Oman, and Uganda all set to make their tournament debuts in North and Central America.
The most recent tournament edition featured 16 teams and 45 matches, while it ran between October and November 2022 in Australia. The hosts were eliminated during the group stage, with England eventually prevailing after also defeating Pakistan in a low-scoring final.
The Previous Winners of the T20 World Cup
Interestingly, England’s triumph in Australia saw them lift the ICC T20 World title for the second time, having also triumphed in the West Indies in 2011.
The Windies are the only other nation to win more than one T20 World Cup, having prevailed in Sri Lanka in 2012 and beaten England in a thrilling finale at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens four years later.
Four other teams have won this tournament once, namely India (2007), Pakistan (2009), Sri Lanka (2014) and Australia (2021). Both Pakistan and England have also appeared in three finals each, with the former’s sole triumphed sandwiched by relatively narrow defeats against India and the Three Lions.
The West Indies have won both of the finals they’ve contested, while Sri Lanka have been defeated twice in the T20 showpiece match. Below, you’ll find a summary of the eight T20 World Cup final results and eventual winning margins:
| Year | Host | Winner | Runner Up | Winning Margin |
| 2007 | South Africa | India | Pakistan | 5 Runs |
| 2009 | England | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 8 Wickets |
| 2010 | West Indies | England | Australia | 7 Wickets |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | West Indies | Sri Lanka | 36 Runs |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | India | 6 Wickets |
| 2016 | India | West Indies | England | 4 Wicket |
| 2021 | UAE / Oman | Australia | New Zealand | 8 Wickets |
| 2022 | Australia | England | Pakistan | 5 Wickets |
Which Previous Winners are Most Likely to Triumph in 2024?
As we’ve touched on, India are the pre-tournament favourites to win their second T20 World Cup in 2024.
However, all of the previous winners will be in contention once the competition gets underway in June, and there are several nations that will fancy their chances in what can be an unpredictable format. Here’s our take on the main contenders:
#1. India
When India lifted the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, most onlookers would have expected the side to have added to this haul by now. However, they were defeated by Sri Lanka in Bangladesh in 2014 in their only other final appearance and have largely struggled to realise their full potential in the format.
What’s more, India slumped to a shock ODI World Cup final defeat against Australia in November 2023, with the Baggy Greens winning by six wickets with seven overs to spare in front of a stunned crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
However, the flat batting conditions expected in America and the Windies will suit India’s usually prolific batting lineup, as well as their wily spinners. So, while the side is currently focused on its upcoming home Test Series against England, they’ll surely be one of the contenders once the tournament gets underway.
#2. Australia
You can back the Aussies to win the 2024 T2 World Cup at 4/1* with talkSPORT BET as they look to add to their recent ODI World Cup, World Test Championship, and Ashes wins.
They certainly have a balanced side that’s laced with powerful and prolific batsmen, while Mitchell Starc remains one of the best T20 pace bowlers in the world. Skilful spinner Adam Zampa was also the second most successful wicket-taker in the 2021 T20 World Cup, claiming 13 wickets in seven matches at an average of 12.07.
There’s no doubting the Australian’s collective spirit and winning mentality either, and they deserve to be among the early favourites.
#3. England
Despite a desperately disappointing ICC ODI World Cup campaign in India (which saw the Three Lions become one of the first sides to be eliminated), England retain one of the deepest and most talented pool of players in the world.
Skipper Jos Butter remains one of the most destructive T20 batters around, for example, while Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone are two of the most accomplished all-rounders. However, only six players from the ODI World Cup squad were selected for the subsequent T20 series in the WI, while Phil Salt, Rehan Ahmed and Gus Atkinson look like exciting additions.
Due to this combination of proven quality and exciting new players, England will be one of the teams to watch as the T20 2024 World Cup unfolds, especially if you’re thinking of betting on cricket.
In addition to these previous winners, teams like South Africa and New Zealand will go in search of their first T20 world crown in 2024. Whoever you intend to bet on this year, we recommend that you check out our Safer Gambling Portal and the responsible gambling tools that we have developed over time.
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*Odds correct at time of writing
