T20 WC Player of tournament: Kohli, Suryakumar in shortlist; vote now
India has been knocked out of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 but two players are in the reckoning to win the Player of the tournament award.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has invited fans to vote for the Player of the tournament award. It has announced a shortlist of nine cricketers that includes India’s Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
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Kohli had a memorable tournament with the bat, scoring four half-centuries but he won’t feature in the final as India lost to England in the semi-final stage on Thursday in Adelaide.
With 296 runs from six matches, Kohli is the leading run scorer in the tournament. He started off with a bang, single-handedly winning the game for India against Pakistan in Melbourne on October 23.
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Though his strike rate was only 136.40, not great in the T20 format, Kohli was key to India’s innings throughout the tournament. He averaged 98.66 with three not outs of his six visits to the crease. He hit 25 fours and eight sixes. His highest score was 82 not out against Pakistan.
During the tournament, he also became the leading run scorer in the history of the T20 World Cup, surpassing Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene.
Also read: Sachin or Sehwag? Ganguly picks his best
Another Indian batsman who dominated the T20 World Cup in Australia was Suryakumar. With his unorthodox shots and innovative play, he lit up the tournament. He scored 239 runs from six matches with three fifties.
He averaged 59.75 while his strike rate was 189.68. He hit 26 fours and nine sixes.
With England and Pakistan set to face off in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne tomorrow (November 13), five players from the two teams feature in the Player of the tournament shortlist.
England captain Jos Buttler, his opening partner Alex Hales, and all-rounder Sam Curran, along with Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi are in the running to win the award.
The other two in the shortlist are Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka.
Buttler has scored 199 runs and Hales 211. Curran has taken 10 wickets. Hasaranga is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 15 scalps. Khan and Afridi have 10 wickets apiece. Raza has scored 219 runs.
Shortlist for T20 World Cup Player of the tournament award
- Virat Kohli
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Shadab Khan
- Shaheen Afridi
- Sam Curran
- Jos Buttler
- Alex Hales
- Sikandar Raza
- Wanindu Hasaranga
Nine incredible performers are in the running for the Player of the Tournament award 👏
Who is your pick? 👀
🗳 VOTE NOW to stand a chance to win signed merchandise ➡ https://t.co/ukquhKhWVF pic.twitter.com/23NSoOw8bN
— ICC (@ICC) November 11, 2022