T20 World Cup 2022: Slight chances for New Zealand in the T20 World Cup?

The Kiwis will take one of their best squads to the T20 World Cup this time. New Zealand has a great combination of spin and pace bowling attack along with sharp fielding skills of their players, which gives them a good chance of winning their maiden World Cup title. 

"We've had the ball hold a little bit more especially with that new ball when it grips a little bit so I think it can actually play very similar to the way Aussie will, especially getting later on into the tournament," said Glenn Phillips. 

New Zealand's biggest strengths

The main strength of New Zealand lies in the top three, having a strong and heavy batting unit. Apart from the full order, they also have depth in their batting line-up. Skipper Kane Williamson has to decide amongst Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, or Mark Chapman, who can open in an attacking way with Martin Guptill.

In the bowling attack, they have a strong pace duo of Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult, who has plenty of experience playing international and domestic cricket. They have top-class white ball spinners in Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. 

Key players who can make a difference:

• Martin Guptill- He is one of the most senior players for New Zealand and will be necessary for his team's batting line-up in the upcoming World Cup. He is the leading run-scorer in men's T20Is amongst his fellow players and has been in fine form. 

In 122 T20Is, he has scored 3531 runs with a strike rate of 135.70 to be the most successful batter for New Zealand. Having played 24 international innings in Australia, he has one hundred, one-half-century to average at 22.73. 

• Daryl Mitchell- Once called in as a replacement for injured Colin de Grandhomme, he gradually made his spot as a permanent player in the squad. In the past few months, he emerged as one of the formidable weapons for New Zealand owing to his hard-hitting skills. 

Coming at lower order, he can disrupt the opponent's bowling attack quite well. In 35 T20Is, he has played with a strike rate of 141.59 to accumulate 657 runs. As a result of playing down the order in a limited-over format, his average in ODIs and tests is 60-plus, while in the Twenty20s, it is 25.26, as he has been playing down the order. 

• Trent Boult- He has been the pillar of New Zealand's bowling attack for several years across the formats. However, his impact in T20Is has been exceptional, and he has won many games for his sides against the odds. 

His ability to choke runs and scalp wickets early, as well as slog overs, makes him an asset for his team and a threat to opponents. The bowler has picked 66 wickets in 50 T20I matches giving an economy of 7.91 and will be necessary for his team on Australia's pace-favoring pitches.