5 unexpected things that could happen at the 2016 World T20

Disclaimer: What you are about to read is a positively ridiculous forecast of what might happen in the upcoming World T20, and it should be taken as such. That said, none of the following is impossible, and if any of it does occur, you read it here first!In a few short weeks an entertainment show masquerading as a serious cricket event will be upon us. Yes, the World Twenty20 is almost here. A collection of mishit maximums, long hops labelled as ‘variations’, and moments of crazy brilliance are sure to leave us all exhausted, before the punishing cricket calendar puts us weary spectators through it all again just days later with the Indian Premier League.This cricketing carnival promises incidents that will make Lagaan as forgettable as yet another One-Day Interntional between India and Sri Lanka, and more twists than a soap opera – but at least you won’t see these ones coming.From cruel unsportsmanship to the downright ridiculous, here are five unexpected things that could actually happen at the World T20.

#1 Spidercam takes centre stage

Spidercam ruining the result of the final

Television companies have done everything possible to get closer to the action in recent years, from attaching microphones to fielders - so they can have awkward chats with Danny Morrison in the commentary box - to introducing Spidercam, an all-seeing eye that swoops around the ground, giving viewers dynamic aerial views of the ground.

Spidercam has been regularly criticised for interfering with play, with balls hitting either the camera itself or the wires holding it place, and just last month MS Dhoni complained that the device ‘disturbed’ him. Now it’s time for Spidercam to really ruffle feathers, and ruin the result of a game at the World T20.

Just to fuel the controversy, it’s an Associate nation on the brink of a breakthrough that suffers an unnecessary fate. With six runs needed to win off the final ball, Afghanistan’s dreams of a first win over England are dashed as the ball, otherwise destined to land out of the stadium, flicks off Spidercam is declared dead.

The final delivery is bowled again, and this time, it safely finds a fielder on the fence, and England escape with the most fortuitous win of all-time.

#2 Shahid Afridi\'s bat might fire

Shahid Afridi turns from a zero to a hero

Shahid Afridi’s international is drawing to a close after nearly two decades of madness. Pakistan’s maverick all-rounder has thrilled, stunned and frustrated fans throughout his career and his ability to from zero-to-hero and vice-versa within the blink of an eye is unmatched.

While his bowling has proved more useful than his batting over the past few years, it’s the latter that brings the glitz to Afridi’s game and makes him still must-watch. Cricket addicts across the world can still find time to watch him bat – probably because he never seems to be at the crease for more than 10 minutes.

Despite the lack of form, it wouldn’t be ‘Boom Boom’ if there wasn’t one more dazzling trick to come from his hat before he bids the international game farewell. One more six-filled knock would be a fitting finish for Afridi although it’s more likely he’ll dance down the track and whack one straight up in the air first ball, judging from his performances lately. But we live in hope.

#3 The greatest catch that never was

What a catch, eh?

T20 demands discipline, and while fielders have got the message and taken the game to new heights, bowlers certainly have not. The no-ball, a cardinal sin - especially in the one-day game - is a totally unnecessary, but increasingly common gaffe from bowlers that thwarts what would otherwise be a wicket-taking delivery.

Barring a select few who prize honesty, batsmen must be dragged off the pitch after their dismissal, and the modern game sees them not only plead their case to the on-field umpires, but to the third umpire too. Out clean bowled? "Better check for the no ball, umpire."

It would be a poetic injustice for a piece of expert fielding to be punished by a lackadaisical no ball, but as Mitchell Marsh’s one-handed pluck to “dismiss” Brendon McCullum in his Test swansong showed, it can happen. Hopefully, from a sadist’s point of view, we’ll see the best catch in history at the T20 Global Big Bash, only for it not to count.

#4 The Associates fight back

Ireland makes a mark this time

The International Cricket Council (ICC) doesn’t get a lot right nowadays, but let’s consider they are actually a collection of visionaries and one of their most criticised decisions proves a stroke of genius.

Cricket’s “real” formats have been made an exclusive club of 10 - although we know the ICC would rather it be just eight, or how about just three. But T20 is opening its arms to the world, or 16 countries at least, and it’s about time one of them made a mark.

Irish and Dutch cricketing success has so far been restricted to video games, if the publishers even bothered to include them, that is. But that’s about to change. The minnows are angry and the sport’s established elite are about to feel the full force of an Associate assault.

You’ve got to be in it to win it.

#5 A World Cup-winning mankad

How about something similar to this?

Picture the scenes, and then picture the chaos. A classic India-Pakistan final for the ages is reaching its climax: India are two runs from glory, while their old foes are one wicket from triumph, with just one delivery remaining, which is to be bowled by, you guessed it, Mohammad Amir. A solitary piece of magic would etch any player on the pitch into cricketing folklore, but instead, the chance for eternal notoriety thanks to the shrewdest of opportunism proves too much.

The Kolkata crowd expects, or rather demands – this is the ground after all, that set fire to the stands after their country failed to deliver against Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup semi-final. The unfortunate tail-ender at the non-striker’s end, whose sole instruction is to run, run and keep running, jumps gun in excitement and leaves his crease before the ball is bowled.

Amir whips the bails off, mankading the non-striker, and Pakistan celebrate their second World T20 title. Persistent pleas from the umpires to think about the irrelevant-but-often-recited ‘spirit of cricket’ mantra fall on deaf on ears, a Pakistan party safe in the knowledge they’ve done nothing wrong.