Richard Mann has picked out five bets from the ICC T20 World Cup specials markets – check out the full preview here.
Cricket tips: ICC T20 World Cup
1pt Kagiso Rabada top overall tournament bowler at 22/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
2pts Kagiso Rabada top South Africa tournament bowler at 10/3 (General)
2pts Glenn Phillips top New Zealand tournament batsman at 13/2 (General)
2pts Jan Frylinck top Namibia tournament batsman at 6/1 (Spreadex, Sporting Index)
2pts Salman Agha top Pakistan tournament batsman at 5/1 (General)
0.2pt (2.2pts total stake) Yankee Rabada/Phillips/Frylinck/Salman at prices advised (acca part pays 1364/1)
Those to have already read my outright preview for the T20 World Cup will know by now that I’m sweet on the chances of South Africa, so it will come as no surprise to see this specials preview headed by Proteas pace ace KAGISO RABADA.
I’ll be disappointed if South Africa are unable to muster a deep run in the next few weeks, and key to their hopes with the ball will be Rabada, very much the attack leader across all formats.
Rabada has a pretty good T20 record, too, with 78 international wickets in this format to his name, but it’s more what I’ve seen recently that has lured me into backing the 30-year-old to be top tournament bowler at 22/1.
An overall career strike-rate of 19.7 is pretty good, but in 2024 that dropped to 14.3, and 16.0 in 2025. I’m not concerned about two outings at the beginning of 2026, where Rabada bowled really well without getting the wickets his efforts deserved.
Rabada red-hot for World Cup bid
More recently, I think we’ve seen an improved Rabada in T20 cricket, with his yorker at the death landing more consistently. We all know what a threat he is with the new ball, but a better version of Rabada at the death is a big deal.
In the recent SA20, Rabada finished the tournament strongly after a slow start, which augurs well for the task ahead, and what I’ve always liked about him is how he always rises to the big occasion.
And this is just that, with the Proteas genuine title contenders, just as they were in the 2024 edition when Rabada claimed 13 wickets in nine matches at an average of 15.00. His strike-rate was down at 14.3 in that World Cup.
The 22/1 looks a step out to me, as does the 10/3 for Rabada to finish the competition as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker.
Phillips heads top batsman trio
Elsewhere, it’s three names in the top team batsman markets that make plenty of appeal.
I’ll kick off with GLENN PHILLIPS to be top New Zealand tournament batsman at 13/2.
This looks a big price, clearly not taking into account that Phillips generally bats at number four in this format, and that he was by some margin New Zealand’s leading runscorer in the recent five-match T20I series with India.
Given that Phillips was making his return from a lengthy injury layoff on that tour, his efforts in that series and a hundred in the preceding ODIs offered very good signs. Moreover, he’s entitled to sharpen up again having missed so much cricket in the last 12 months.
I’ve long been a big fan of Phillips, who hits the ball miles and plays spin very well. He’s an exceptional runner between the wickets as well.
In a Kiwi batting line-up I don’t have particularly high hopes for, he looks the standout.
Similar comments apply to JAN FRYLINCK who gets the vote to be NAMIBIA’S TOP TOURNAMENT RUNSCORER at 6/1.
Born in South Africa, Frylinck is very experienced now and was Namibia’s leading runscorer in the 2022 T20 World Cup, before showing up reasonably well again two years later.
Crucially, Frylinck’s form over the last year has been outstanding, with the dashing left-hander averaging 40.00 from his last nine games in this format. And then warming up for this tournament, he blasted 88 against Scotland earlier in the week.
I do think the layers have missed the fact that Frylinck has been opening the batting, and thus odds of 11/2, when considering his red-hot form, look plain wrong.
Salman the safe bet for Pakistan
Finally, SALMAN AGHA rates the best option to be TOP PAKISTAN TOURNAMENT BATSMAN at 5/1.
Salman Ali Agha's Transformation at #3! 📈🔥
— PakPassion.net (@PakPassion) February 4, 2026
Since moving to number three, his strike rate has skyrocketed to a blazing 194.62 with a solid average of 36.
This new role has unlocked his true power-hitting potential as a game-changer! 🎯💥 pic.twitter.com/ZX2IcHKGb2
Oddly, Babar Azam dominates the betting here, despite the fact this patently isn’t his best format, and that Salman has taken his number three spot in the Paksitan line-up. Babar will bat at four.
Salman, now captain, was the star of the show in the recent T20I series whitewash of Australia, finishing as the leading runscorer on either side, just ahead of teammate Saim Ayub.
Salman kicked off that series with scores of 39 and 76, appearing in fine touch, and over the course of a long tournament, I just think he’ll prove that bit more consistent than a firecracker like Saim.
5/1 about Salman is too big, the market made by Babar and with very little behind the top four to be worried about.
Posted at 16:05 GMT on 04/02/26
More Cricket content
- Richard Mann's T20 World Cup outright preview
- Paul Krishnamurty's T20 World Cup best bets
- T20 World Cup daily best bets
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