With England and Pakistan, all set to take on the world by storm in the summit clash on November 13, Sunday, in the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022, their skippers Jos Buttler and Babar Azam voiced out their opinions on the front runners for the Player of the Tournament award and surprisingly, neither of the two mentioned Virat Kohli in their lists.
Buttler, the captain of the Three Lions, said that the Indian middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav deserves to clinch the award and for the unversed, the right-handed batter scored 239 runs at a strike rate of over 180.
‘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 was quoted as saying.
However, the England captain backed two of his players Alex Hales and Sam Curran and said that either of the two could also steal the prestigious award. It was Hales’ unbeaten 86 alongside Buttler’s unbeaten 80 that helped the Three Lions to make it through to the finals.
“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,” Buttler said further.
Shadab Khan gets pat from skipper Babar Azam
Pakistan’s captain, however, backed his teammate Shadab Khan, who is also a contender to bag the award. Notably, Shadab has been stupendous both with the ball and the bat as the allrounder managed to rack up 10 wickets in 6 matches played so far.
“I think it should be Shadab Khan for the way he is playing. 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,” Babar was quoted as saying. Other than the five, Buttler, Sikandar Raza and Wanindu Hasaranga are also the front-runners to win the Player of the Tournament award.
