ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Are England, currently plagued by injuries, the best white-ball team in recent times?

It was true for them, both, before and during the tournament, which is always a tough pill to swallow. But to say they have dealt well with it is an understatement. 

They dealt with it so well that their leading players who are ruled out were barely missed. This is the mark of a champion team. 

And their list of injuries isn't insignificant. Before the tournament even began, they were dealt a blow when the first-choice opener Jonny Bairstow was ruled out due to a freak golf accident. 

He was replaced by a returning Alex Hales, who had been out of the England scheme of things since a failed recreational drugs test in 2019. 

Then, just before the tournament began, the left-arm seamer Reece Topley pulled up and had to be replaced in the squad by Tymal Mills. 

They were also hit by a few injuries during the tournament, including one just before the semi-final match with India. 

Mark Wood, who had been one of their best pace bowlers and the only one capable of consistently cranking it up to around 150 km/h, suffered from tight muscle tissue. 

Dawid Malan, now one of England's best batters in white ball cricket, also injured a groin injury during the final group game against Sri Lanka. 

Mark Wood was replaced by Chris Jordan, whereas Malan was replaced by Phil Salt – who, as it turns out, didn't even need to bat a single ball against India. 

It's astounding that England has been hit with so many injury issues and have still bounced back so strongly that they currently sit in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup. 

It's always seen as the sign of a strong team if they have enough bench strength that any player can seamlessly go in and out of the line-up. 

And while England doesn't quite have that level of comfort, they have proved that they can adapt to any circumstances based on the situation's needs. 

It's little wonder, then, that they can become two-time T20 World Cup champions. After all, most teams would have been hit hard by such absences. 

Just look at how India fared in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. India could not fill the void left by their absence, and the bowling duly struggled.

And, to be fair, England did not look the same without Mark Wood. The bowling did not have the same bite due to the simple fact that Chris Jordan is a very different bowler from Mark Wood. 

Chris Jordan's significant strengths are his accuracy, yorkers, and ability to mix things up, whereas Mark Wood is a pure pace. But, even then, Chris Jordan was able to fill in for Mark Wood. 

And the kind of bench strength they have means that England is quickly up there as one of the finest white-ball teams right now – if not the best.