Cricket World Cup 2023: Yuvraj Singh Picks His Player Of The Tournament. It’s Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma

Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami emerges as the standout performer in the Cricket World Cup 2023, leading the charts as the top wicket-taker with an impressive 23 scalps from six matches, boasting an economy of 5.01. Shami’s exceptional performances include three five-wicket hauls and a four-for. His stellar seven-wicket haul in the semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai on Tuesday solidifies his position as India’s key bowler heading into the final against Australia. Initially benched for the first four matches, Shami’s opportunity arose due to an unfortunate injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and he has since seized the moment, never looking back.

“India always had match-winners on the bench. I won’t say Hardik’s injury was a blessing in disguise, but everyone was waiting to see how Shami would perform, and the way he has set the stage on fire has been outstanding. I feel if anyone deserves the Player of the Tournament award, it’s Mohammed Shami,” Yuvraj expressed to Sports Tak.

India’s head coach Rahul Dravid came agonisingly close to winning the Cricket World Cup title as a player back in 2003, when India lost to Australia in the summit clash.

Meanwhile, the likes of Rohit Sharma have also narrowly missed out on winning the title in the past, as he was not part of the squad that won the 2011 World Cup and India was eliminated in the semi-finals in the two subsequent editions.

“Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have a chance to secure their first World Cup medal. They deserve it. Before the Asia Cup, we were wondering where the Indian ODI team is because we didn’t know the combination. However, the return of Iyer, Rahul and Bumrah certainly made a difference,” Yuvraj added.