T20 World Cup 2022: "You can seen why franchises around the world are paying a lot of money to have Curran on board" - Nasser Hussain praises youngster after stellar show
Former England batter Nasser Hussain recently claimed that Sam Curran is one of the hottest properties for T20 franchises around the globe. The 54-year-old believes England's brilliant death bowling was the biggest factor in their T20 World Cup win this year.
Curran played an integral role with his left-arm seam bowling in the T20 World Cup this year. The 24-year-old snared 13 wickets in six games at 11.38, including figures of 4-0-12-3 against Pakistan in the tournament decider and a five-wicket haul against Afghanistan. His efforts not only earned him the Player of the Match award in the final, but also the Player of the Tournament award.
Player of the Match ✅
Player of the Tournament ✅
Some cricketer, @CurranSM 👏 https://t.co/9ABklZ7Gwn
In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain wrote:
"You can see why different franchises around the world are paying a lot of money to have Curran on board. Speak to analysts and they say he has already worked out how to bowl to various batters before they have had a chance to tell him. OK, the conditions have been more condusive for bowlers in Australia and it wasn’t the greatest of MCG pitches yesterday, but you still have to bowl to the dimensions and conditions and that is what Curran has done time and again."
Punjab Kings paid INR 7.2 crore for Curran, making him one of the most expensive players in the IPL 2019 auction. The youngster went on to showcase his potential with a hat-trick against the Delhi Capitals and a 24-ball 55 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"If Pakistan had got up to 150 it could have been a very different story" - Nasser Hussain
Hussain further reflected that unlike their poor performance at the death in the 2016 and 2021 editions, England kept it tight in the final against Pakistan.
"Death bowling cost England in Kolkata in 2016 and it cost them in Abu Dhabi last year but it hasn’t cost them in this tournament," he said. "Just look at this final. With three overs to go Pakistan were on 123 and they have ended up making 137 so those last 18 balls bowled by Curran and Chris Jordan were hugely important. If Pakistan had got up to 150 it could have been a very different story."
The trophy lift 🏆
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After electing to field first, England restricted Pakistan to just 137. Ben Stokes' unbeaten fifty later turned out to be pivotal in their five-wicket victory.