Sanju Samson nominated for Player of the Tournament award:ICC shortlists 8 players; Sahibzada Farhan also in race

The T20 World Cup 2026 is in its final stages. On Sunday, the title clash between India and New Zealand is scheduled to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Even before the final, the ICC has shortlisted 8 players for the ‘Player of the Tournament’. India’s Sanju Samson is also among the ICC’s nominations. He played only 4 matches in the tournament but scored 232 runs at a strike rate of over 200. He was also the Player of the Match in India’s last two encounters. Wasn’t a regular part of India’s playing XI
When the T20 World Cup began, Sanju Samson’s name was not in India’s Playing XI. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan opened, while Tilak Varma got a chance at number 3. Before the match against Namibia, Abhishek fell ill, and Sanju was included in his place. Samson was out after scoring 22 runs off 8 balls. When Abhishek returned fit, Samson was dropped. Samson remained on the bench against Pakistan, the Netherlands, and South Africa. India also lost their first match in the Super-8 stage. Against Zimbabwe, the management gave Samson a chance instead of Rinku Singh and also made Sanju open. Samson scored 24 runs in his comeback match against Zimbabwe. The next match against West Indies was like a knockout. Samson played an unbeaten innings of 97 runs here and helped India chase a target of 197 runs. Sanju then scored 89 runs in the semi-final as well, taking India to a big score. He has hit 16 sixes in just 4 matches. Also read: India are 0-3 against New Zealand in T20 World Cups: MS Dhoni’s runout to WTC 2021 heartbreak, Kiwis dominant in ICC events Pakistan’s Sahibzada also in the race
Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan is also in the race for Player of the Tournament. He scored 383 runs with 2 centuries. This is a record for the most runs scored by any player in a T20 World Cup. However, he did not get support from the rest of the team and the team could not enter the knockout round. Performance of the remaining 6 players in the race Voting begins, experts will also decide the winner
ICC has shortlisted 8 players and started their voting. Fans can visit the ICC website and vote for their favorite player. In addition to fan voting, the Player of the Tournament will be decided based on the votes of cricket experts and commentators included in the ICC panel. The result will be announced after the final match.