New Delhi, Jan 1 Cricket in 2021 was anything but hectic. Bio-bubbles and quarantine sounded like everyday words while the action on-field was electrifying and saw two teams, Australia and New Zealand, take the silverware for the first time in Test Championship and Men's T20 World Cup.
2022 promises two chances of clinching silverware in men's cricket. First of them comes in January when the West Indies will play host to the Men's U19 Cricket World Cup. Bangladesh, the winners of the 2020 edition, are placed in Group A alongside England, Canada and United Arab Emirates (UAE). India, who were the runners-up last time, are in Group C alongside Ireland, South Africa and Uganda. Expect Yash Dhull and Co. to do well in the tournament after winning the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai.
Roughly ten months from the U19 World Cup comes another edition of the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia, just a year after the UAE and Oman jointly hosted the mega event. Aaron Finch and his men will step on their home field as defending champions after completing the only missing piece left in Australia's glittering cupboard.
England, under Eoin Morgan, will be eyeing to fulfil their dream of holding two white-ball World Cup trophies at the same time while India, after a disappointing campaign, will be looking to prove a point. For India men's side, after an epic 2021 in Test cricket, one of the first targets will be to clinch a maiden Test series win in South Africa.
Leading 1-0 after winning at Centurion, India will be striving to put up a winning show in Johannesburg and Cape Town. After the three-match series, an ODI series of as many matches come with a new captain in KL Rahul and vice-captain in Jasprit Bumrah. A white-ball series against West Indies and two Tests followed by three T20Is against Sri Lanka at home follow quickly. If all goes well, then one can see Afghanistan facing India in an ODI series for the first time.
Then comes the question of where the Indian Premier League (IPL), with two new teams from Lucknow and Ahmedabad, will take place? After the devastating second wave of Covid-19 stopped the cash-rich league in May, it was shifted to the UAE, where it was completed. Hosting of the IPL in India needs sensible planning, especially with India having a surge in Omicron cases. Should the BCCI be doubtful of hosting the tournament in India, it may look towards UAE, yet again.
After the IPL bandwagon, comes another hectic schedule for Indian cricket. Five T20Is against South Africa at home are followed by a trip to England. There, India will be looking to win the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston to complete a series win in England apart from three ODIs and T20Is. One can expect dates for India's future tours to West Indies, Asia Cup in Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka coming to the country later in the year.
Outside India, England's future as a Test team will be keenly looked at after conceding the Ashes in just 12 days and people questioning the systems for technique, developing first-class cricketers and how County Championship should happen. Overall, 2022 in men's cricket will be a very hectic year and if Covid-19 effect goes down, expect bio-bubbles and quarantine to go.
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