The 2026 World Cup is almost upon us.
India are defending champions after their 2024 win and have home advantage as co-hosts alongside Sri Lanka.
Can anyone stop them? And who will be the best batters and bowlers?
Here are the Test Match Special team’s predictions before it all gets under way on Saturday, 7 February.
Who will win?
Former England bowler Steven Finn: It is hard to look beyond India, but the romance of South Africa winning after how close they got to winning by reaching the 2024 final is something I would like to see.
I do actually think England are dark horses to win the tournament given how well they played in Sri Lanka and the options they have.
Former England bowler Alex Hartley: No team has ever won a men’s T20 World Cup on home soil, so I’m going India.
Former England bowler Tymal Mills: India will be tough to beat in their own conditions. Obviously all their players are well-accustomed to playing on those decks, so I’ll go with India.
England and Scotland bowler Kirstie Gordon: It is probably a popular answer but it is hard to look past India in their own conditions. They look incredibly strong and well balanced. I would love to see South Africa give them a scare.
As for Scotland, it is hard to say given their lack of preparation time, but they have some excellent players and will be keen to show they deserve to be there.
I think they will beat Italy and Nepal but West Indies and England’s firepower could be too big a hurdle.
BBC cricket reporter Henry Moeran: India will be hard to beat at home, and having won the last two global white-ball events will be full of confidence.
But as we saw in the final of 2023, home pressure can sometimes be a hindrance and so many top players from around the world having Indian Premier League experience means knowledge of conditions perhaps will not be as significant.
South Africa could be a threat having broken their hoodoo with the Test Championship win.
TMS commentator Prakash Wakankar: While India will be among the favourites, the pressure will be immense.
I would never write off Australia, and South Africa are really well placed with the variety in their bowling and depth in their batting.
If pressed, I would go for a repeat of the 2023 50-over final between India and Australia, but hopefully with a different result…
TMS commentator Daniel Norcross: India. It is the obvious choice but that is because India come into this World Cup in formidable form and have home advantage.
In addition, if their match with Pakistan does not go ahead, they will not only pick up two points without playing a game but will also not have to leave India.
TMS commentator Aatif Nawaz: Though both England and Pakistan are heading into the World Cup with strong form, getting the better of India will be a Herculean task.
BBC cricket writer Matthew Henry: I was all set to try and be clever. Like before the 2023 50-over World Cup in India, Australia have lost their past two series.
At that World Cup, Australia were without Travis Head for the start. This time Josh Hazlewood was set to miss the opening weeks but now he has been ruled out entirely, they surely have little chance.