As Aussie short-form captain George Bailey put it, the only thing that matters in international T20 is the World Cup. This month sees the fifth playing of the biennial tournament, which promises to be the biggest sporting event ever held by Bangladesh, if concerns about safety in the country don’t force a venue change. Previous ICC World T20s have produced four different winners, including reigning champs the West Indies, who claimed a rousing win in Sri Lanka. Not among those winners: Australia, which makes this tournament one of the few cricket trophies the nation is yet to claim.

value Photo: Getty Images.

VALUE BET

Sri Lanka is twice a runner-up in this event, including a difficult loss at home two years ago. The great innovators of the one-day game have proven to be rather adept at this format, currently ranked no.1 in the ICC’s T20 rankings. The core of veteran stars still powers this team, with Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara all among the top dozen T20 batsmen, and bowlers Lasith Malinga (pictured above) and Ajantha Mendis (the standout of the last T20 Worlds) are highly proficient against the blazing, caution-to-the-wind bats. The emergence of some of their younger talent – Dinesh Chandimal, or perhaps Kusal Perera – could be the catalyst that puts the Lankans’ final-game woes behind them.

SAFE BET

Be forewarned, those who would wager on inherently volatile 20-over cricket (and in a tournament on the subcontinent, no less). The consensus favourite entering the World T20 has never won, victims of the curse of small sample size (a maximum of six games). With that in mind, India remains the most solid bet in familiar conditions, and will be helped by the lead-in provided by the 50-over Asia Cup competition, also in Bangladesh. The key will be how its bowlers perform, particularly an inexperienced corps of pacemen, as an out-of-form Ishant Sharma was dropped. The batting order, however, studded with the likes of Virat Kohli (right), MS Dhoni and recalled format specialist Yuvraj Singh, is high-powered enough to chase down any number, which the Aussies learnt on their tour to India last October.

bolter Photo: Getty Images

ABSOLUTE BOLTER

It’s hard to resist putting a romantic dollar on minnow Nepal. The mountain nation is playing in a top-level tournament for the first time, having qualified in a thrilling last-ball, 13 runs-from-the-final-over victory over Hong Kong in the play-offs. The result had them dancing in the streets of Kathmandu, and it means that funky Nepalese flag will be flown at the T20 Worlds. As cricket grapples with an administrative restructure that could lead to greater power concentrated with India, England and Australia, the efforts of the smaller nations are hopefully not just seen as feel-good stories, but a reminder of what the game can be.

brush Photo: Getty Images

BRUSH

The Aussies’ tour of South Africa has well and truly kept the longer form of the game in our hearts and minds – but that leg of the trip ain’t over yet, with the two sides still to play three T20 matches as a tune-up for the Worlds. Amid their solid run of Test pre-eminence, the Saffers are also eager to assert themselves in the limited-overs categories. Faf du Plessis (above) will lead a team with talent to spare, but South Africa has a notorious track record of underperforming in ICC tournaments – only one victory, the 1998 Knockout Trophy (which was, interestingly, in Bangladesh). They entered the 2012 Worlds as the number-one-ranked nation, but ended up eliminated in a four-way group split. The South Africans’ traditional aversion to spin won’t be terribly helpful either on the turning decks in Chittagong and Mirpur.