Talking Cricket: Why India are the only Asian side that can win the 2026 Cricket World Cup

2026 will bring a feast of cricket that, at the heart of it, will showcase the men’s T20 World Cup. Played across India and Sri Lanka, the best teams and players in the men’s game will come together to smash sixes, take wickets and pouch catches. 

Most of the 20 sides have been confirmed, but it feels like only a handful of the teams really matter when it comes to winning the tournament. 

According to the odds, only four sides are truly in the running to secure the silverware, with India, Australia, South Africa and England the only nations available below $10.00 in the betting. 

England, Australia and South Africa make up a strong contingent, but India are the only side representing Asia at the head of the betting. Are we once again hurtling towards another major men’s cricket competition with India being the only Asian side that can lift the trophy? 

Asia has a proud history of providing some of the great teams in men’s cricket. Without even looking at India, the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka have dominated at different times, while Bangladesh and Afghanistan are the most improved sides in the men’s game. 

Some of the great Test, One Day International and Twenty20 players have hailed from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, most households across Asia would know of current stars like Shubman Gill, Babar Azam or Rashid Khan. 

However, none of the quartet outside of India are anywhere near the top of the men’s game right now. 

While Asia has never had a wider range of strong teams, the depth of quality is a worry. The difference between India at the top and the other four is massive, and it only seems to be getting bigger. 

In the men’s T20 rankings, India sit at the summit. You would have to go all the way down to seventh to find Pakistan, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan following on. 

While five of the top 10 T20 teams are Asian, the sides have struggled to make their mark of late. 

Of course, the rankings system can often be deceiving, but it is telling that so few Asian sides sit near the summit. 

Consistency is rewarded in the rankings, and none of the four have been consistent enough to climb above the likes of England or Australia. 

Having one big game and hitting a 9/10 in quality is one thing, but consistently hitting a 7/10 and above is what wins series and World Cups. Sri Lanka hypothetically hammering the West Indies by 100 runs at a World Cup is meaningless if they then go on to lose their subsequent games and are eliminated at the group-stage. 

Ultimately, each of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have to find a way to consistently perform in the same way India have of late. 

While the 2026 World Cup will bring a fresh slate for each side, the demons of previous iterations will still remain. 

At the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan were humiliated by the USA as they lost via a super over. This eventually saw Pakistan knocked out in the group stage. Pakistan became the unwitting recipient of the shock of the tournament. 

Afghanistan did make it out of their group, but this came on the back of a stunning 104 run loss to West Indies in their final match. While any team can lose heavily, the scale of defeat did highlight that Afghanistan are still not quite in the world class bracket. 

South Africa dominated their group, with Bangladesh sneaking through behind them. Sri Lanka were the unlucky side to be knocked out, winning just one of their four. 

In the Super Eights, India and Afghanistan made it to the semi-finals, but only the former made the final as the latter were easily beaten by the Proteas. 

What did this final have in common with many that have come before? A lack of Asian teams outside of India. India won the trophy in 2024 but, prior to this, only a losing effort from Pakistan in 2022 constituted Asia’s appearances in a T20 final since 2014. 

Of the nine men’s T20 World Cup finals, four have been won by Asian teams, but only two triumphs have come in the last seven iterations. 

The worry for most Asian sides will not only be making the final, but winning it. Five runners up have been Asian teams in comparison to four winners. There have been three all-Asian finals across the history of the tournament, although the last of these came back in 2014. 

While it is very impressive that three of the nine finals have only had Asian sides involved, would they have ended with an Asian side winning the trophy if they were playing a side from outside of Asia?

Of the Asian sides, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each made three finals. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have won once and lost twice. Meanwhile, India have won twice and lost once. Their win percentage of 66.66 in finals is another reason why they have become the only Asian side to back. 

India's player base is also a major factor. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and Abishek Sharma starred across the Asia Cup in 2025. In a major tournament, they were brilliant, eventually helping their nation ease to a five wicket win over Pakistan in the final. 

This was their third successive win over their arch-rivals at the tournament, with India able to withstand the expectation of the betting odds and their fans as they did what they have become so accustomed to doing. 

This Indian side is full of not only talent and skill, but also winners. 

Many Indian sides of the past have had an embarrassment of riches, but they have struggled in the biggest games. Indeed, India have only won the 50 over World Cup twice in 1983 and 2011. At the T20 World Cup, they also have two triumphs in 2007 and 2024. 

To boast as much talent with bat and ball as India have and to have only won three World Cup’s in 21 iterations prior to the 2024 T20 World Cup is a stunning statistic. 

However, the hope for India will be that their triumph in 2024 will lead onto more trophies. Winning begets more winning. The more finals this Indian side plays, the more chances they have to win high pressure games. 

On the flip side of things, Sri Lanka have not appeared in a T20 World Cup final since 2014, while Pakistan’s last appearance saw them beaten by England in 2022. 

The Asia Cup is also worth looking at, with India dominating. Of the 17 tournaments, India have won nine time including four of the last five competitions. Things would likely be different if international powerhouses like Australia or England were involved in the tournament, but India have played what is in front of them, and they have won consistently. 

Of the 17 tournaments, India have only failed to reach the final four times. In both 2023 and 2025, India won the competition. The scale of their domination in Asia is hugely impressive, and the impetus will now be on achieving that on a global scale on the cricket field. 

Sri Lanka showed promise at the recent Asia Cup by winning all three of their preliminary group games against Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to top their group. However, when things got tough in the Super Four stage, they failed to register a single win. 

For Pakistan, they made the Super Four and then pipped Bangladesh to the final. However, they were beaten three times, with all three defeats coming against India. One loss in the group-stage was followed by defeat in the Super Four. They were then handed a hat-trick of defeats to their biggest rival in the final. 

While making a major final will give Pakistan hope, the mental scars of losing three consecutive tournament games to India in 2025 will surely take a toll if the pair met in a World Cup final. 

For Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the World Cup in 2026 will offer another chance to shine. As the supposed minnows of the top five Asian teams, the pair have been superb. 

At the 2024 World Cup, Afghanistan finished second in the group before beating Australia and Bangladesh in their Super Eight group game. While they were soundly beaten by South Africa in the semi-final, huge strides forward have been made. 

Bangladesh were slightly less prolific, although they did go through second in their group at the expense of Sri Lanka. They were then knocked out in the Super Eight stage winless from three. 

However, the major boost for Asia will be that of the eight sides making it out of the groups, three teams hailed from Asia. Indeed, this came as the strongest Asian side was accompanied by historically the weakest of the five major Asian teams. 

There is no quick fix in cricket, and this is something the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka will know. The duo join the West Indies as once great sides still frantically searching for their best. While an overnight change is impossible, the continued improvements of Bangladesh and Afghanistan will likely only spur sleeping giants Sri Lanka and Pakistan back towards greatness, although the 2026 World Cup will likely come far too soon for any of the four to truly challenge.