The 2022 T20 World Cup form guide, via IPL performances and international action

Ahead of the 16-team tournament beginning in October, we take a look at how each team is positioned.

Outside of Rashid Khan, it’s been a quiet IPL for Afghanistan.

Mohammad Nabi has been squeezed out by the rest of the overseas corps at Kolkata Knight Riders, while Under-19 World Cup starlet Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Fazal Haq Farooqi are also yet to feature in the competition.

Rashid has taken six wickets from as many matches, with the third-best economy in the competition of those to bowl at least 20 overs.

Winners of a one-off T20I against Pakistan, and well-represented at the IPL, the 2022 tournament hosts and defending champions still look the side to beat.

Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood have made a strong start to their campaigns at Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Lucknow Super Giants big-money signing Marcus Stoinis has made contributions with both bat and ball. David Warner has found a groove with new side Delhi Capitals, but teammate Mitchell Marsh has been sidelined by Covid-19.

Aaron Finch, who made a half-century in the victory over Pakistan, smashed a 28-ball 58 for Kolkata Knight Riders against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, in just his second IPL match. Teammate Pat Cummins made headlines by scoring a 14-ball fifty against the Mumbai Indians (the joint-fastest in IPL history), and has taken four wickets in as many matches, though at an expensive rate of 12 runs per over.

Matthew Wade played a key role in Gujarat’s first tournament victory, but was left out of their last match in favour of India ‘keeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Bangladesh players were largely avoided during the IPL auction, with the team playing international cricket during this year’s tournament.

Mustafizur Rahman is the only Bangladesh player to feature, taking 3/23 in his first match of the season for Delhi Capitals, only to go wicketless in the next three outings.

The 2022 IPL hasn’t been the most remarkable for the English overall, though the performances of Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone have been more than encouraging.

Having led the way with the bat in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Buttler’s form at the IPL suggests the 31-year-old can emulate the success in Australia later in the year.

Buttler bludgeoned 103 off just 61 balls for the Rajasthan Royals on Monday against KKR, including nine fours and five boundaries. The knock took him to 375 runs at the tournament, well clear of KL Rahul (265) in second. It was his second century in the ongoing IPL, having smashed 100 against MI earlier in the tournament.

Livingstone is also proving his class in the competition, leading the Punjab Kings' run tally (224 run, SR 185), though things are not as rosy for fellow Kings batter Jonny Bairstow, who has just 32 runs across three innings.

While chipping in with the bat at the Chennai Super Kings, Moeen Ali has struggled with the ball, so far going wicketless. Tymal Mills has figures of 0/91 across seven overs for MI, while Chris Jordan has picked up just the two wickets in four matches.

The magnifying glass is on a number of domestic players at the IPL, with India desperate to improve on their poor 2021 performance.

Many of those who missed out on World Cup selection last year, including Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, T Natarajan and Yuzvendra Chahal, have provided selection dilemmas. Chahal leads the competition in wickets, and Dinesh Karthik has announced his intentions of returning to the fold.

Of those to have been picked from the last tournament, KL Rahul (265 runs at 142 strike rate) has stood out. Suryakumar Yadav has 200 runs across four knocks, at a strike rate of 154, while Virat Kohli (119 runs at 19.83) is still to reach his best in this year's tournament.

In terms of uncapped Indian players, Sunrisers Hyderabad's Umran Malik (nine wickets at 22.33) could be a World Cup bolter, with his raw speed, and a final-over triple-wicket maiden against Punjab Kings, stealing the attention.

After negotiating a tough T20 World Cup Qualifier A field, Ireland have a break from white-ball cricket until their historic hosting of India in late June.

Paul Stirling missed out on the IPL, but he played a key part in Islamabad United’s PSL campaign earlier, scoring 200 runs at a strike rate of 177 and an average of 33.33.

Namibia may have dropped a T20I in their recent hosting of Uganda, though the Eagles were still strong series winners even after a heavy rotation of players.

JJ Smit moved even higher in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I all-rounder rankings, with one of the greatest individual performances ever in a T20I helping him rocket up the charts. The left-armer claimed a hat-trick and final figures of 6/10 in the third match, after making 71 (35) with the bat.

Namibia’s issues at the top of the order during last year’s T20 World Cup campaign have been somewhat remedied by the return of JP Kotze who has come out of retirement. Pierre de Bruyn’s side will be sweating on the health of skipper Gerhard Erasmus, who broke his hand during the series.

While a number of New Zealand players have struggled to break into their respective IPL sides, the Black Caps quicks have made an early impression in the tournament.

Tearaway Lockie Ferguson has worked in tandem with Mohammed Shami at Gujarat Titans, the pair claiming eight wickets apiece to lead the new side. Trent Boult leads the Rajasthan Royals' fast-bowlers with seven scalps, and Tim Southee has made strong contributions in his two matches for KKR.

Kane Williamson looks to have shaken off his elbow issues, though after making his 127 runs at a strike rate of under 100, questions have been raised about the skipper’s position in the order.

Questions in the middle order persist for Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup campaign, with a one-off T20I defeat to Australia in Lahore the only action in the format in the calendar year thus far.

The top three of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman look set, but the middle order will likely see some changes from 2021 after Mohammad Hafeez’s retirement. Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah at this stage are the candidates.

Little should change from 2021 on the bowling front, with Shaheen Afridi leading a strong attack that will include the likes of Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Shadab Khan.

One of the success stories from last year’s First Round, Scotland’s progress to the Super 12 stage in UAE meant that Kyle Coetzer’s side avoided the cutthroat nature of the qualifying phase for 2022.

The team has instead focused on the 50-over format, moving up to second on the League 2 table, on the path to the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.

Proteas batters have made quite an impression on the IPL, with Aiden Markram, David Miller and Quinton de Kock all making strong starts to the competition.

Markram played the finishing role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s win over the Punjab Kings over the weekend, making 41* (27), knocking off the target of 152 with seven balls to spare. The right-hander has been dismissed just once thus far, scoring 190 runs at a strike rate of 151.

Miller’s match-winning 94* for the Titans against CSK moved him to 193 runs (SR of 161), while de Kock has formed a strong partnership with KL Rahul at the top of the order for Lucknow Super Giants (215 runs, SR 134).

Kagiso Rabada’s seven wickets (economy 8.00) leads Proteas bowlers, with Dwaine Pretorius (four wickets) and Marco Jansen (three) making contributions.

Sri Lanka’s stars are making a mark in IPL 2022.

Wanindu Hasaranga leads Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowling charts with 11 wickets, while Maheesh Theekshana’s star continues to rise, taking six wickets in the first three matches.

Dushmantha Chameera (five wickets) has emerged as a role player for Lucknow, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 83 runs across three innings at Punjab has come at a strike rate of 230.55

UAE could make a case for being the in-form T20I Associate side, after their victory at the T20 World Cup Qualifier A back in February.

After brushing Nepal aside by 68 runs in the semi-final, Ahmed Raza’s side chased down Ireland’s 159 in the tournament final, thanks to Muhammad Waseem’s 66-ball 112.

Only a handful of the close to 20 players from the Caribbean at the IPL can lay claim to making significant contributions. Encouragingly for West Indies, the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, who need to deliver in the team's generational change, have stood up.

Hetmyer’s 223 runs at 74.33 (SR 180) has helped the Royals to second on the IPL table, while Pooran’s maturity has shone through in the middle order.

Veteran Andre Russell continues to dazzle for the Knight Riders, scoring 179 runs at a strike rate of 177.22 on top of his six wickets, while Sunil Narine, who was left out of the West Indies squad for last year’s T20 World Cup, has also claimed half a dozen wickets for KKR.

The final two teams for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be decided at the B Qualifier in July.