ICC World T20 | Suryakumar Yadav is the Player of the Tournament in my opinion, remarks Jos Buttler
Ahead of the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan, England skipper Jos Buttler has heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav, saying the stylish Indian batter should be the Player of the Tournament. Suryakumar had a memorable World Cup campaign this year, scoring 239 runs at a strike rate of 189.68.
Although India finished the T20 World Cup campaign with a shocking 10-wicket defeat against England in the semi-final, there were a lot of positivities from the Men in Blue squad in the tournament. The biggest of all was how electric Suryakumar Yadav was at the crease, which helped India win four out of their five games before reaching the knock-outs. Suryakumarās strike rate of 189.68 is the highest in the tournament, and his aggregate of 239 runs was the third-highest among the top run-getters.
Keeping his audacious knocks in mind, England captain Jos Buttler, in the pre-match press conference ahead of the final against Pakistan, lauded Suryakumar for putting on stellar performances in Australia. In fact, Buttler believes Suryakumar deserves to be adjudged the Player of the Tournament as things stand.
"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,ā Buttler told the reporters, as quoted by the ICC.
However, Buttler also mentioned if Sam Curran and Alex Hales, two of Englandās brightest stars in the tournament, chipped in with valuable contributions in the final, one of them may end up winning the prestigious award as well.
"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 added.
The ICC has shortlisted nine players for the Player of the Tournament, of which three are from England, two each from Pakistan and India and one each from Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.