ICC T20 World Cup Dispatch: Nepal, UAE Powering Growth Engine; Rajapaksa 'Clarifies' Amusing Bat Allegations

The fourth day (Tuesday, February 10) of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 saw Finn Allen and Tim Seifert mount a world record opening partnership en route New Zealand's emphatic 10-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates. Later, Pakistan avenged their stunning USA upset in 2024 by beating Monank Patel and Co comfortably, this time around.

The day also witnessed the list of injury setbacks to participating teams swelling. Sri Lanka's star leg-spin all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament owing to a hamstring injury, and Kiwi southpaw Michael Bracewell re-aggravated a left calf issue to be ruled out as well.

Apart from all the stats, results and on-field action, there was plenty of news, views and chatter off the field as well. Here are some of the interesting updates and tidbits you might have missed from the T20 World Cup:

New Avenues Fuel Record Video Viewership

The International Cricket Council (ICC) reported a 53 percent rise in video views across its digital platforms from the 2024 edition after the first six games of the T20 World Cup. In a statement, the global governing body said its digital platforms attracted 647 million video views.

Huge growth in viewership has come from countries like Nepal, UAE and USA with their national teams being part of the tournament. "The ICC app has enjoyed an 83% spike in users since 2024, while there has also been 16% more people using the ICC website across the same period," said the ICC.

"The biggest growth has been seen from fans outside the Full Member countries. Nepal, who pushed England hard during their Group C clash on Sunday, leads the way in terms of individual country increases, with users from the southeast Asian country up a staggering 442%."

The growth has been fuelled by non-English commentary on ICC.tv for the first time with the Nepali feed for England versus Nepal and the Hindi feed for India versus USA being the top two streamed matches, stated the world body.

India, Favourite Choice For Tournament Favourites

That India are widely being considered as the team to beat in this edition comes as no surprise to anyone. But it's another thing to know exactly how unanimous that sentiment is, even in a relatively unpredictable format like T20.

The defending champions have nearly every expert from JioStar, official broadcasters of the 20-over showpiece, expecting Suryakumar Yadav and Co to reach at least the final of the tournament. As many as 96 per cent of experts have backed the co-hosts to go all the way and repeat history, including 2007 winners Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla, former India Test captain Anil Kumble and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal.

Each of the 46 JioStar experts had India as one of the two finalists, a trend the Men in Blue have followed in the last three men’s ICC events, including the Cricket World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and the Champions Trophy 2025, going on to win the last two under former India captain Rohit Sharma.

More than one-third of the experts predicted a repeat of the 2023 India vs Australia final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, while 30 per cent could foresee a repeat of the T20 World Cup 2024 final between India and South Africa.

Coming to the semi-final predictions, apart from India, South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand were popular choices to finish in the top four, with the occasional pick for Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Spring In Bat, Anyone?

Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa raised many an eyebrow with his comment on the bats used by Team India players. Claiming that Indian cricketers are using bats that generate more power, Rajapaksa said in an interview: “Indian players have bats that are far superior to the best bats we get. It feels as though a layer of rubber has been applied. I can’t imagine how that’s possible. These bats can’t even be bought by others — all players know this.”

The statement evoked sharp reactions online, with the 'layer of rubber' invocation reminding some users about the funny rumour spread after the 2003 World Cup final that Ricky Ponting's bat had a spring in it. But Rajapaksa later sought to clarify his comment, taking to X.

"Hi all, just a quick clarification about comments from a recent interview that have been interpreted differently and, in parts, lost in translation. My point was meant as praise: Indian cricket is incredibly advanced, from its systems and infrastructure to its equipment standards. Their bat manufacturers are truly among the best in the world. In hindsight, I could have provided clearer context. Nothing but respect always," his post read.

Competence By Association

In a 20-team ICC tournament, the performance of Associate teams is bound to be under the scanner. But anyone following this edition closely would acknowledge the quality of cricket sides like Nepal, Netherlands and USA have played, running titans ragged and almost pulling off historic victories before falling short.

Nepal kick-started their campaign with a standout performance against England, narrowly losing a last-ball thriller by four runs. Before that, the Netherlands very nearly subjected Pakistan to defeat in the tournament opener, with a dropped catch from Max O'Dowd handing Faheem Ashraf a late lifeline and a nervy last-over win.

Back home, the same India that everyone has been gushing about were in dire straits with the bat against the USA in their first game. Reduced to 77 for six at one stage, the holders seemed headed for a sub-130 total, raising visions of an incredible United States triumph. But skipper Suryakumar had other ideas, smashing an unbeaten 49-ball 84 to shape the co-hosts' 29-run win.

Indeed, the blanket term 'minnows' that has been used for decades to refer to these teams is now not entirely applicable. With the T20 World Cup still young, who knows how much more the Associate nations have to offer!