Predictions for 2020s

[Gollum]

Take some guesses and hopefully we will revisit them at the end of the decade, provided 2020 doesn't kill us all and ICF survives till then 

 

• Aus and Eng to win 1 WC each
• We will have 5 T20 WCs this decade, Eng to win x2, India/Aus/WI 1 each
• ICC WTC will adopt a 4 year cycle format...India to win 2 WTCs and Aus 1
• Aus will dominate test rankings (team as well as individuals) till 2022, then India will dominate for rest of the decade barring 1-2 blips
• Ind will achieve some otherworldly home streak like 50-2. Then after Ash/Jaddu retirements we will face a few stern challenges at home, a few hard fought series draws, NZ will fluke a 2 test series win in India with lots of help from rain (peak BCCI scheduling) and that will be our only series loss at home the whole decade
• Ind will win a test series in each of the SENA countries, multiple times in RSA
• Aus will finally win an Ashes in Eng, Eng will continue getting relentless whippings downunder
• RSA will struggle like WI of late 90s
• WI resurgence, will be a consistent top 5 side in all formats and enjoy memorable series wins along the way
• Holder will have a Frank Worrell like status by the time he retires...in terms of unifying the countries under one flag
• This gen of fast bowling will be the best ever...Cummins, Bumrah, Rabada, Archer, Alzarri, Ngidi, Hazlewood, Boult, Afridi etc. and a few more will emerge even from SL
• SL won't improve, gradually cricket will take backseat to rugby there
• BD and Afg to win an Asia Cup each, Ind will gobble up the rest
• Iyer/KL/Hardik will deliver a T20 WC after clutch performances
• Only SL, BD, Afg and RSA/WI second string sides will send their teams to Pak...expect lots of crying/whining from PCB donkeys
• Babar Azam will become the GOAT Pakistani batsman but won't get much support from the others
• Shaw and Gill will be the batsmen of the decade (statistically) but serial chokers like Rohit/Kohli
• Labu will look like the next Smith and then suddenly fade away
• Bumrah and Kuldeep will become ATGs, latter especially for his SENA showings, they will be our players of the decade
• Pant will shine in tests but never figure out ODI/T20 styles...lesser version of Sehwag
• Kirsten will get another stint as India coach
• Smith and Kohli will decline considerably in their final years but still retire as ATGs...Kohli will average close to 50 in tests and Smith around 58, Tendu's ODI 100s record will fall but his total runs, test/overall 100s records will stay safe..Kohli will fall short of 100 100s cos of steep decline, he won't overstay
• Kohli won't redeem himself in KOs/WCs either as player of skipper, will retire in disgrace after another ICC choke
• Stokes to be player of the decade
• Though SL will struggle they will unearth a quality quick bowler
• BD will stay at the same level throughout the decade but win a couple of multi-nation tournaments finally, BD-Afg rivalry will be fun to follow
• Nepal will enter the scene and play like 2010s Afg
• Mudgal report will be made public and some big reputations will take hits
• Another massive fixing controversy in IPL
• Title will continue to elude RCB, MI will purchase max number of titles, CSK the franchise will decline after MSD's exit, DD will take that spot and challenge MI to start a new marquee rivalry
• After a few years we will have a 14 team IPL (Awadh Biryani, Kerala Coconuts etc.), format will change to make it single round-robin followed by final 4. Also top 8 will play a CT like tournament in Sep or Oct maybe overseas
• Kohli/Anushka will own an IPL team and Kohli will retire over there in his 40s, several years after international retirement
• 4 day tests will be tried in Eng and quickly lose favor, some new innovations like 25x4 will be tried and fail
• D/N tests will become mainstay and 30% of all tests will be D/N even in Ind
• Ashwin will enter commentary panel and become India's first non-rubbish commentator (finally!!!)
• First 500 score in ODIs, first 300 score in T20s both by Eng and will happen multiple times...India won't feature once on that list cos neither will we concede that many 
• Rohit's 264 record won't be broken but an individual 200 in T20s will surpass even Rohit's achievement
• Poyzzz will make it 0-20 in Australia, at least 0-12 in RSA, will lose all WC matches to India
• Eng to dominate ODIs/T20s, Ind tests, Aussies will be 2nd best in all 3 formats
• NZ will have a few sparks but overall decline, they'll be like SL of this decade, their highlight being test series win in India which will be a huge upset like SL's win in RSA
• Fewest individual 300s in a decade as forcing results will take precedence cos of WTC
• Some bowler will take all 10 wickets in an innings and emulate Kumble
• BCCI will once again dominate ICC boardroom and things will go smoothly as others will get to know their aukat...India will get more share of revenue and another window for mini-IPL in Sep/Oct, test cricket will survive thanks to BCCI
• Indo-Pak bilaterals won't resume
• Paucity of good Indian umpires in ICC elite panel to continue

Edited July 21, 2020 by Gollum