England captain Jos Buttler on Saturday picked India batter Suryakumar Yadav as his Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup.
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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. Nine players have been shortlisted for the Player of the Tournament award by the ICC with those from England and Pakistan dominating the list.
There are three players from England, two each from Pakistan and India and one each from Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. “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.
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.
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“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 in the tournament’s official website, t20worldcup.com.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam differed from Buttler and picked Shadab Khan, whose all-round 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.”
