A total of nine players have been shortlisted for the Player of the Tournament in the ongoing 2022 T20 World Cup. The multi-national tournament that began on October 16 will come to a close on November 13 (Sunday) with Pakistan and England crossing swords in a high-voltage final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This edition of the T20 World Cup will probably go down as one of the best ICC tournaments ever, particularly because of the number of nail-biting edge-of-the-seat thrillers it paved way for.
England captain Jos Buttler, who has also been shortlisted for the prestigious award, picked Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav as his Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup.
Buttler chose to go with Suryakumar, who made a massive impact for India in the showpiece with his consistency, coupled with a high strike rate.
Suryakumar is the third-highest scorer in the tournament with 239 runs that came at a strike rate of 189.68, the best in the tournament.
"I think Suryakumar Yadav for me has been someone who's played with extreme freedom. He's been incredibly eye-catching to watch in such a star-studded line-up. To stand out the way he has is amazing," Buttler said ahead of his side's summit clash against Pakistan here on Sunday.
Several individuals stood tall for their teams when the going got tough and single-handedly dragged their country to the promised land during this edition of the competition. Nine players from five teams are now battling for the most prestigious individual award - Player of the Tournament.
Shortlisted players:
India: Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav
England: Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Alex Hales
Pakistan: Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza
Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga
Virat Kohli is the other Indian to feature in the list for his magnificent form in the tournament.
Kohli topped the run-scoring chart for India ahead of Suryakumar with 296 runs from six games at a staggering average of 98.66 and strike rate of 136.40. He also hit four half-centuries in the tournament.
Buttler, however, highlighted the role of two England players who stood out in the tournament and didn't forget to mention that they had another opportunity to be strong contenders for the award.
"Of course there's a couple of our guys on that sheet as well - Sam Curran and Alex Hales. If they put in a great performance in the final, they can be the Player of the Tournament for me," he was quoted as saying on the tournament's official website, t20worldcup.com.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam differed from Buttler and picked Shadab Khan, whose all-around contributions have been pivotal in his team's late surge in the tournament.
"I think it should be Shadab Khan for the way he is playing," Babar said.
"While his bowling has been outstanding, his batting also improved quite a bit. His dominating performances in the last three games along with his outstanding fielding makes him a prime contender for the Player of the Tournament," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
