T20 World Cup 2022: "It can be either Kohli or Surya" - Aakash Chopra on India's Player of the Super 12s
Aakash Chopra is slightly split between Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav as India's best player of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.
The Men in Blue qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament as the Group 2 table toppers. Kohli and Yadav, who amassed 246 and 225 runs respectively, were the top two run-getters in the Super 12 stage of the tournament across all teams.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked a Player of the Super 12s from each of the four semi-finalists. As for India, he said:
"There is a straight split right down the middle. It can be either Kohli or Surya. Kohli's knock against Pakistan was exceptional, which is tilting me slightly in his favor, but Surya has also struck three half-centuries and when he plays, he plays differently. Kohli has got a lot of awards, we are giving it to Surya."
Chopra chose Shadab Khan as the standout player for Pakistan. The former India opener reasoned:
"Pakistan have made a sort of backdoor entry. Shadab Khan - he is my player because he won the South Africa match single-handedly. If they hadn't won that match, they wouldn't have reached here. In fact, he picked up two wickets against Bangladesh also."
Shadab has picked up 10 wickets in Pakistan's five matches thus far. His 52-run knock and two wickets in a must-win game against South Africa was a match-defining effort.
"I am going with Glenn Phillips" - Aakash Chopra on New Zealand's Player of the Super 12s
Chopra picked Glenn Phillips as New Zealand's star performer. He explained:
"I am going with Glenn Phillips, how well the guy has played. He scored a hundred, only two centuries have been scored to be fair. After that, he played another amazing knock and it seems runs will have to come from Glenn Phillips' bat if this team has to go further. So he is my man from New Zealand."
The cricketer-turned-commentator chose Sam Curran as England's player of the tournament thus far. He elaborated:
"When I look towards England, I am slightly split. I feel Sam Curran. He is doing the right things at the right time. He picked up five wickets against Afghanistan. He has regularly done well in the death overs. In fact in the Sri Lanka match, where Wood picked up three wickets, he had a hand in pulling them back."
Sam Curran is effective.
H/t @mroller98 https://t.co/kSZreBd1Fj
Curran's spell of 5/10 against Afghanistan is the only five-wicket haul of the tournament thus far. The left-arm seamer has an excellent economy of 6.40 despite being used as a specialist death bowler.