The T20 World Cup starts this weekend in Adelaide, and we take a look at five bowlers to watch during this year's tournament.
The T20 World Cup 2022 starts this weekend in Australia, where the world's best white-ball bowlers will be aiming to bamboozle opposition batters.
Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was the leading bowler at the 2021 T20 World Cup, claiming 16 wickets in eight games, and he is 8/1 to retain his title Down Under.
Hasaranga's fellow slow bowlers Adam Zampa of Australia and Bangladesh stalwart Shakib Al Hasan also enjoyed success in the UAE and Oman last year but the pitches in Australia should provide more pace and bounce for the fast bowlers.
| What: | T20 World Cup 2022 |
| Where: | Australia |
| When: | 16th October - 13th November, 2022 |
| How to watch: | Sky Sports |
| Odds: | India 3/1, Australia 3/1, England 4/1, Pakistan 7/1, South Africa 8/1, New Zealand 8/1 |
Lightning Boult holds key to New Zealand hopes
New Zealand reached last year's T20 World Cup final and classy left-armer Trent Boult played a huge role in the Black Caps' success.
Boult picked up 13 wickets in seven games - more than any other fast bowler at the tournament - after claiming 3-20 off four overs in the win over India and dismissing both Australian openers in the final.
He also had a memorable 50-over World Cup campaign in 2015, when Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the tournament and Boult and Aussie quick Mitchell Starc finished as the joint-leading wicket-takers.
The Kiwi ace warmed up for the 2022 T20 jamboree by picking up ten scalps in three ODIs against Australia last month and he is 9/4 to be New Zealand's top tournament bowler.
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Speedy Wood fit and firing for England
Mark Wood provided a rare bright spot amid the gloom of England's 2021/22 Ashes defeat in Australia when he took nine wickets in the fifth Test in Hobart, including 6-37 in the second innings.
Injuries have disrupted Wood's international career but, 10 months on from his Hobart heroics, he is fit again and ready to crank it up at the T20 World Cup.
The Durham man was restricted to two wicketless outings at last year's tournament in the UAE but returned to action with 3-24 and 3-20 against Pakistan. Another three-wicket haul against Australia in Perth suggests his skiddy pace should pose a major threat in Oz.
Hazlewood could be hard to handle on home turf
Early in his Australia career, Josh Hazlewood was regarded as a Test-match specialist but his metronomic line-and-length bowling is now a huge asset for the Aussies in Twenty20 cricket.
Hazlewood, who made only nine T20 international appearances between February 2013 and December 2020, was outstanding in Australia's 2021 T20 World Cup triumph, taking 11 wickets including 3-16 in the final against New Zealand.
His new-ball partner Starc went for 60 off four overs in that game but Hazlewood's accuracy and awkward bounce means he rarely receives that kind of punishment from batsmen.
His 2022 T20 returns include 4-12, 3-22 and 4-16 against Sri Lanka - all off four overs - and he looks a big runner at 16/1 to be top tournament bowler.
Spin king Rashid ready to shine for Afghanistan
Afghanistan's top-eight ranking earned them an automatic place in the Super 12 stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup and leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been the catalyst for his nation's remarkable rise up the ranks of world cricket.
He took eight wickets in five games at last year's tournament, recording figures of 4-9 in the Afghans' 130-run rout of Scotland in their opening match.
The Scots could console themselves with the knowledge that the brilliant leggie has tormented batters all over the world, including in the Big Bash in Australia, where he has amassed 92 wickets in 61 appearances for Adelaide Strikers.
Rashid, who is 13/10 to be Afghanistan's top tournament bowler, took 6-17 against Brisbane Heat in a Big Bash game in January and he will be looking forward to Afghanistan's clash with Australia on 4th November at the Adelaide Oval, his adopted home ground.
Rapid Rauf is part of exciting Pakistan pace attack
Like Rashid Khan, Pakistan's Haris Rauf has impressed in the Big Bash, having showcased his pace-bowling talents in Sydney grade cricket.
Rauf, like his England counterpart Wood, is a skiddy bowler who is capable of reaching speeds of around 95mph. He varies his pace well, ruffling batsmen with the short ball, and is an excellent option for Pakistan at the death.
He looked in fine fettle during September's T20 series at home to England, taking three late wickets to pinch a dramatic three-run win in Karachi, and he claimed three scalps in the 19th over of Pakistan's recent victory against New Zealand in Christchurch.
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