A total of nine players have been shortlisted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the Player of the Tournament award, including star Pakistani bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan.
The ICC reportedly selected nine outstanding sportsmen from Pakistan, India, England, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe for its shortlist.
In the current tournament, Shadab and Shaheen have each taken ten wickets, which is the most for Pakistan. In the major event so far, both players have received player of the match awards.
According to an ICC press release, “Shadab Khan has been one of Pakistan’s outstanding performers on their route to the tournament final, starring with both bat and ball.”
The statement said, “He has been a significant performer, taking crucial wickets in the middle overs while also performing the role of power-hitter in the middle order wonderfully. The world’s governing body of cricket also praised Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen, who made a remarkable recovery from a knee injury.
According to the ICC, “Shaheen Afridi has slowly but definitely found his rhythm in the tournament and has been back to his best in the previous two games.” Along with Shaheen and Shadab, the ICC also named Wanindu Hasarange de Silva from Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav from India, Sam Curran, Alex Hales, and Jos Buttler from England, and Sikandar Raza from Zimbabwe. It is important to note that fans can vote on the official ICC website to determine who will receive the Player of the Tournament award.