MELBOURNE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday named their most valuable team of the recently-ended ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Two Indians, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, have been named to the team.
Players from six different nations have been named the Most Valuable Team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Stars from champions England, runners-up Pakistan, semi-finalists India and New Zealand as well as Zimbabwe and South Africa, all feature in the glittering lineup.
Captain, wicketkeeper and opening batter Jos Buttler, fellow opener Alex Hales and seamer Sam Curran all make the cut for England after helping steer their side to a second ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title. There are also spots for New Zealand star Glenn Phillips, India talisman Virat Kohli — the tournament’s leading run-scorer — Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza in the line-up.
The side was put together by a selection panel featuring commentators, former international players and journalists Ian Bishop (convener), Mel Jones (both commentators), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (ICC Hall of Famer), Partha Bhaduri (journalist, The Times of India), Wasim Khan (ICC general manager of cricket).
Kohli kickstarted his campaign with a pivotal 82 not out against arch-rivals Pakistan to anchor his side to a heart-thumping final-ball four-wicket victory. And further knocks of 64 not out against Bangladesh, 62 not out against the Netherlands and 50 against England in the semi-finals helped round off an individual competition to savour for one of the greatest white-ball batters of the modern era.
Fellow Indian Suryakumar slots in at No.4 after finishing as the tournament’s third-most prolific batter with 239 runs overall. Three half-centuries — against the Netherlands (51 not out) in Sydney, 68 against South Africa in Perth and 61 not out off just 25 balls against Zimbabwe in Melbourne — helped haul his side into the semi-finals as he scored at a staggering strike rate of 189.68 throughout his six innings.
The Most Valuable Team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 (in batting order) is: Alex Hales (England) – 212 runs at 42.40, Jos Buttler (c/wk) (England) – 225 runs at 45.00 and nine dismissals, Virat Kohli (India) – 296 runs at 98.66, Suryakumar Yadav (India) – 239 runs at 59.75, Glenn Phillips (New Zealand) – 201 runs at 40.20, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 219 runs at 27.37 and 10 wickets at 15.60, Shadab Khan (Pakistan) – 98 runs at 24.50 and 11 wickets at 15.00, Sam Curran (England) – 13 wickets at 11.38, Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – 11 wickets at 8.54, Mark Wood (England) – 9 wickets at 12.00, Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) – 11 wickets at 14.09. (ANI)