T20 World Cup 2022: 10 Players who can win Player of the Tournament award

The eighth edition of the T20 World Cup will be hosted by Australia, starting on October 16. Australia won the previous edition of the competition, beating New Zealand in the summit clash. Eight teams that have made direct qualification into the Super 12 of the tournament are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa. The sides are divided into two groups. The top two from each group will qualify for the semifinals.

Super 12 will commence on October 22, followed by the semifinals on November 9 and 10, and the final on November 13 in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This is the first time Australia will host a T20 World Cup.

Players who have won the Player of the Match awards in the previous editions are Shahid Afridi, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, Virat Kohli (twice) and David Warner. And in this edition, some of the best players of the format will feature, and the competition for the award could be very tightly contested.

Here are ten players who can win the Player of the Tournament award:

1.David Warner (Australia)

Warner is one of the best batters in the world across formats, and even the Player of the Tournament of the 2021 edition. He scored 289 runs in seven matches at an average of 48.16 and 146.70 with three fifties in the competition.

The New South Wales batter made his Australia debut in 2009 and has appeared in 91 matches ever since, scoring 2,684 runs at an average of 33.55 and a strike rate of 140.89. He has also played 328 T20 matches overall and has scored over 10,870 runs with eight hundreds and 91 fifties.

Since the start of 2021, the Australian opening batter has scored 419 runs in ten matches with a strike rate of 147.53 and an average of 56.58. He is expected to open with his skipper Aaron Finch yet again in the upcoming World Cup.

2. Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Babar Azam, the Pakistan skipper, is arguably the best batter across formats right now. He currently stands number one on the ICC T20I batting rankings and was the top scorer in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup with 303 runs in six matches at an average of 60.60.

Babar made his T20I debut in 2016 and has appeared in 74 matches ever since. He has scored 2,686 runs with a top score of 122 and an average of 45.52. In 2021, he scored 939 T20I runs in 26 innings with an average of 37.56 and a strike rate of 127.58.

He played one match in 2022 and scored 66 runs off 46 balls. A lot would rest on his shoulders and his performance with the bat for Pakistan in the World Cup.

3. Jos Buttler (England)

The England skipper, Buttler, is regarded as the best white-ball batter by many in the world at the moment. He is naturally an attacking batter and has played in different positions in the batting order.

However, Buttler, in recent times, has opened for the Three Lions, and also in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals (RR). In the IPL 2022, he finished as the top scorer with 863 runs in 17 games with four hundreds and as many fifties.

Buttler made his T20I debut in 2011, and he has scored 2,162 runs at an average of 33.36  and a strike rate of 141.21. In his last 17 T20I matches, he has scored 621 runs with a strike rate of 145.77 and an average of 51.75. He is currently in the form of his life as far as T20 is concerned.

4.Mitchell Starc (Australia)

The 32-year-old from New South Wales is fast, fierce, and a fighter. He is one of the best bowlers and nearly untouchable on his day, and even more so in home conditions. Starc was also part of the Australia team that won the T20 World Cup in 2021.

Starc is known for his ability to swing the ball with a searing pace, castling the batters in front of stumps with late movement. He also has the ability to clean up the tail late in the innings with ease, with his deadly yorkers and occasional bouncers to catch the batters off guard.

Starc, after making his T20I debut in 2012, has played in 51 matches and picked up 63 wickets with an economy of 7.55 and a strike rate of 18.3. In his last game on June 7, he had an impressive game, picking up three wickets for 26 runs in four overs against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

5.Glenn Maxwell (Australia)

Maxwell is yet another player who was part of the World Cup-winning Aussie team last year. He can be destructive with the bat, and change the course of a match on his own, even when the chips are down. 

Maxwell, after making his T20I debut in 2012, has appeared in 87 matches and scored 2017 runs at an average of 30.56 and a strike rate of 153.38. He has even picked up 36 wickets with an economy of 7.47 and a strike rate of 22.3.

Hence, Maxwell is also a very handy off-spinner and chips in with wickets at crucial times of the game. He is also currently at number four on ICC T20I all-rounder rankings and will be a player to watch out for in Australia during the mega event.

6.Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

De Kock is dashing batter and South Africa’s first-choice wicketkeeper, and undoubtedly, one of the team’s most valuable players. He normally opens the batting and provides quick starts in the powerplays, and sets the tempo of the game.

De Kock, in the last 17 T20Is, scored 560 runs at an average of 40.00. He also had an impressive IPL 2022 with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), scoring 508 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 148.97 and an average of 36.29 with a century and three half-centuries.

The Proteas wicketkeeper-batter made his T20I debut in 2012 and has appeared in 64 matches, scoring 1,863 runs at an average of 33.26 and a strike rate of 134.60. He also has 51 catches and 15 stumpings in the format.

7. Jasprit Bumrah (India)

The ace Indian fast bowler from Gujarat has been arguably the best white-ball bowler in the last few years. From bowling with the new ball to breaking partnerships in the middle phase to containing batters in the death overs, Jasprit Bumrah is India’s go-to bowler for any situation.

Bumrah first made his mark in the IPL for Mumbai Indians (MI) and then burst onto the scene for India in 2016 in Australia. He has so far picked up 69 wickets in 58 matches with an economy of 6.46 and a strike rate of 18.0 in T20is.

In the IPL, since his debut in 2013, Bumrah has picked up 145 wickets in 120 matches with an economy of 7.39 and a strike rate of 18.91. With a short and stuttering run-up, and straight arm action, he bowls with pace, swing and seam, as it just skids off the surface.

8. Hardik Pandya (India)

Hardik is one of India’s most improved players and is currently, one of the first names on the teamsheet. This year has been a resurgence period for the Indian all-rounder after having a dip in form in 2021.

Hardik showed a lot of promise in IPL 2022, leading Gujarat Titans (GT) from the front with his all-round abilities, scoring 487 runs in 15 matches at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.27, and picking up eight wickets at an economy of 7.28 and a strike rate 22.88. 

Hardik was also named the Player of the Match in the IPL final against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and led his team to the title on their debut season. In 2022 so far, he has scored 217 runs in eight innings with an average of 43.40 and a strike rate of 149.65 in the T20Is. His all-round abilities provide India with the right balance and depth in all the departments.

9. Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

The 22-year-old star left-arm fast bowler from Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi, has been the frontline bowler across all formats for the national team. He made his Pakistan debut in April 2018 and has not looked back ever since.

Afridi has played 40 T20Is so far and has picked up 47 wickets with an economy rate of 7.75 and a stroke rate of 18.8. He has played 119 T20s overall and has picked up 165 wickets with four five-wicket hauls and an economy rate of 7.70.

Afridi’s main strength is swinging the new ball with pace and picking up early wickets. His match-winning spell against India in 2021, picking India’s top three batters, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is still one of the best in the history of T20 World Cup.

10.Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)

The tall Hamilton-born all-rounder has established himself as an all-format player, after his performance in England last month in the Test series. He made his New Zealand debut in February 2019 in a T20I against India in Wellington.

The tall Kiwi all-rounder was also part of the New Zealand team that qualified for the final in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup. He was the Player of the Match in the semifinal against England, scoring 72 off 47 balls.

Mitchell has so far scored 2,775 runs at an average of 30.61 and a strike rate of 131.25 in 133 T20s. He is likely to open in the World Cup yet again for the Black Caps along with Martin Guptill.