Cricket / I don't know how India get the favourites tag in T20 cricket: Michael Vaughan

Cricket Desk: Former England captain Michael Vaughan fails to understand ‘how India get the faourites tag’ in ongoing the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman. Vaughan said England are the favourites to lift the T20 World Cup which began on October 17 with the qualifying rounds. Vaughan said the Virat Kohli-led side ‘has been a long way off’ in their last few tournaments. 

"England for me are the favourites. I don’t know how India get the “favourites” tag in T20 cricket. I just think they’ve been a long way off in the last few tournaments,’ Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

The former right-handed batter, however, did not dismiss the hosts India completely and added that they can be a threat to England along with West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand. 

"West Indies and Pakistan will be threats. I wouldn’t write off Pakistan either. New Zealand have high-class players and you know they will come up with strategies to win games.

"I’ll say it now, I don’t give Australia much chance. In T20 cricket they’ve struggled. Glenn Maxwell’s exceptional so he will have to have an incredible tournament.

“But I don’t see the Aussies doing too much. England, India, West Indies, New Zealand, one of those four and maybe Pakistan because of the conditions,” Vaughan said. 

The former England captain said the pitches will play a crucial role in the outcome of the tournament. 

“The pitches will be interesting because they’ve been used and slow [during the Indian Premier League]. I think 150-160 might be defendable scores,” he said.

‘Stokes, Archer big miss but England really strong’: Vaughan

England, the reigning ODI World Champions, are without the likes of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in this T20 World Cup and their captain Eoin Morgan, has not scored many in his last few appearances. But Vaughan is confident that England have the goods to go all the way. 

“I think T20 is unpredictable because you do need an element of fortune to go your way. In 50-over cricket, the best team generally wins. But in T20 cricket, an individual can have a burst with the bat or ball and win the game. I do think you need some luck. You need your star players to be in fine form, not many of England’s players did much in the IPL,” Vaughan added. 

The 2005 Ashes-winning captain pointed out that Morgan captaincy can be a crucial factor to England's success. 

“Eoin Morgan led Kolkata [Knight Riders] to the final and captained brilliantly, but with the bat he did nothing. England have everything covered. Jofra Archer is a big miss, as is Ben Stokes, but it’s a really strong squad,” he added.