Former England captain Paul Collingwood believes the Jos Buttler-led side will play four spinners against India in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup in Guyana on Thursday. The veteran cricketer said Adil Rashid is a “golden nugget” for England and will pose a challenge against Indian batters on a spin-friendly pitch at Providence Stadium amid the prediction of rain in the encounter. “He is a golden nugget for the England cricket team. He comes on naturally in the sixth over, I think the one thing about Rashid is, that his wrong’uns seem to be so difficult to pick. And he’s got real good deception. Now in T20 cricket, deception is key. Whether it’s slower balls or being able to turn the ball both ways. And he is looking really comfortable at the moment.”

“Indian batsmen generally play spin very well, but I think Adil Rashid, the way that he is bowling at the moment, we just have to wait and see what the conditions are like. There’s a chance that England could actually go with four spinners themselves,” Collingwood said during the Star Sports Press Room.

“Obviously, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone, who is actually an all-rounder who can bowl leg-spin and off-spin. And you never know, if the wickets are so dry, you can go with Will Jacks as well. So, plenty of options, but I think Adil Rashid is on top of his game, and this is the beauty of the World Cup. You’re gonna have a leg spinner now at the top of his game, confident, up against some of the best batters in the world. And that’s why it’s gonna be such a good spectacle, and we’re all down to see it,” he added.

On the other hand, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg said India would not bring Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing 11 and will stick to Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department.

“It’s a day game, so the wicket might be a little bit dry. But this is the good thing about the Indian squad—they’ve got depth in spin. They knew that when they got to the West Indies, they were going to play more spin than pace. But they’ve still got Siraj there that they can bring in, and they’ve got Hardik Pandya, so they’ve got more pace options if they want up their sleeve. Will they bring in Chahal? I wouldn’t bring in Chahal right now. I’d stick with Jadeja. You’ve got to stick with the playing XI that you’re going with,” Hogg said.

He added that Kuldeep and Axar will be crucial against left-handers while Jadeja would be a better option than Chahal if it’s not turning.

“I love the thought of the question, though. Chahal against England would be okay. But there are a couple of left-handers in the batting lineup for England as well, which could do a little bit of damage. Kuldeep Yadav has been bowling exceptionally well, and Axar Patel has been going well. Jadeja hasn’t been that flash, but he gives you so much in the field, as well as with the bat. And he’s a player that, in the right conditions, he can also lift with the ball. If it’s not turning and if it suits pace, I reckon Jadeja is a better option than Chahal as well. So, I’d stick with Jadeja,” Hogg added.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the pinnacle prize for any international cricketer in the shortest format of the game. Right from MS Dhoni to Daren Sammy to Aaron Finch and Jos Buttler, they all along with Younis Khan and Lasith Malinga had the honour of captaining their respective teams to the T20 World Cup title. Come June 1, and 20 teams will be in a battle for the entire month to decide who would win the prestigious Men’s T20 World Cup silverware. For some of the players, it could become the last chance to have a shot at winning the title.

Here’s a look at some cricketers who could potentially be playing their last Men’s T20 World Cup:

Rohit Sharma (India)

The India captain has been playing T20Is since 2007 and played handy knocks in India’s title-winning run in South Africa. Now, after having taken India to a runners-up finish in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup, Rohit would be itching to go one step further through the upcoming T20I showpiece.

But Rohit’s form in second half of IPL 2024 has been a concern, a season where he’s not captaining Mumbai Indians anymore. In his last seven innings this season, the-37-year-old has been out of sorts and has amassed 88 runs at a strike rate of 104.8 and average of 12.6.

With India having lots of young batting talent and soon to burst on the big stage, Rohit will probably treat this World Cup as his last hope of claiming his hands at a white-ball silverware by leading India to glory in the Caribbean and USA.

Virat Kohli (India)

If there is one player in the Indian team who’s desperate to win a global title alongside, it’s the talismanic Virat Kohli. Though he has winners medals from the 2011 Men’s ODI World Cup at home and 2013 Champions Trophy, Kohli would be aiming to have a shot at winning the T20 World Cup to complete his set of medals in white-ball cricket.

The signs are there as Kohli, 35, is in stellar form in the ongoing IPL 2024 season and is leading run-making charts in the tournament. He averages 81.5 in T20 World Cups and has two Player of the Tournament awards too, which means chances are bright for him to do the bulk of scoring for India in upcoming World Cup.

Though his strike rate and scoring effectiveness against spin has been a major talking point, Kohli did show through his 92 against Punjab Kings that he’s adding shots like slog-sweep to counter that, which is a massive news for India.

David Warner (Australia)

The aggressive left-handed opening batter has been one of the biggest players for Australia since 2009. From there, Warner has two ODI World Cup winners medals, as well as one each from T20 World Cup and World Test Championship. Warner right now is on the swansong of his cricketing career, after retiring from Tests and ODIs earlier this year.

Though he hasn’t been in greatest of form for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 and has missed a lot of games due to injury, Warner, 37, would be itching to sign off from international cricket on a high with the T20 World Cup silverware.

Moeen Ali (England)

An explosive left-handed batter who can bat anywhere in the line-up and doubles up as a handy off-spin bowler, Moeen has a wealth of experience in terms of playing T20 cricket, mainly as a floater. He won the 2022 T20 World Cup and has a runner-up finish against his name in 2016.

Moeen, 36, had gone back into Test cricket retirement after last year’s Ashes and was also rumoured to quit ODIs for prolonging his T20 career. With many younger crop of players coming through the ranks in England, the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup could be his last global appearance in the shorter format.

Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter had retired from Tests at the end of 2021 and signed off from the ODI format after last year’s World Cup in India, where he struck four centuries for South Africa in their semifinal finish.

Of late, de Kock hadn’t been in best of form in T20s, having had a run in the BBL and SA20, though there’s been some improvement on that in the ongoing IPL 2024. If South Africa, the perennial underachievers, are to finally win a global trophy through the upcoming T20 World Cup, de Kock will have to play a crucial role in it if he signs off from international cricket later.