Dubai, March 6 – As the T20 World Cup draws to a close, with India and New Zealand set to clash in the final on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the ICC has announced the best performers from the tournament, who have made the shortlist for the Player of the Tournament award.
India's Sanju Samson is among the eight nominees, along with Will Jacks (England), Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan), Lungi Ngidi (South Africa), Aiden Markram (South Africa), Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand), Shadley van Schalkwyk (USA), and Tim Seifert (New Zealand).
Samson has been in excellent form throughout the T20 World Cup, and his performances in India's last two matches have earned him the Player of the Match award.
In a crucial Super Eights victory against the West Indies, he smashed an unbeaten 97 from 50 deliveries. He then delivered again in the semi-final, scoring 89 from 42 balls.
In four matches, Samson has scored 232 runs at an average of 77.33 and a strike rate of 201.73.
Will Jacks, the English batsman, has also been outstanding, winning four Player of the Match awards, including in crucial clashes against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He has proven to be a valuable finisher for his team, scoring 226 runs at a strike rate of 176.56. His best performance was against Italy, where he scored an unbeaten 53 off 22 balls.
Jacks has also been a valuable bowler for England, taking key wickets against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Against Sri Lanka, he took 3 wickets in four overs, his best figures of the tournament. Against New Zealand, he took 2 wickets in four overs, helping his team to a comfortable victory.
Sahibzada Farhan has been a key contributor to Pakistan's campaign. He has scored 383 runs in six innings, the most by any player in a single edition of the Men's T20 World Cup. He also became the first player to score two centuries in a single edition of the tournament, against Sri Lanka and Namibia.
Lungi Ngidi has been a consistent performer for South Africa. He took four wickets against Canada at the start of the tournament, and followed it up with 3 wickets against Afghanistan in a closely contested match. He also took two wickets against the West Indies in the Super Eights.
Aiden Markram has been a key player for South Africa. He has scored three half-centuries in eight matches. His best performances have come in run chases, against New Zealand in the opening group stage and against the West Indies in the Super Eights.
Markram scored an unbeaten 86 against New Zealand to help South Africa chase down 176 in 17.1 overs. He also scored an unbeaten 86 against the West Indies, helping his team to overhaul a target of 177 in 16.1 overs.
Rachin Ravindra has been a valuable asset to New Zealand with both bat and ball. After their opening Super Eight clash against Pakistan was washed out, he gave New Zealand the edge in the clash against Sri Lanka. He scored 32 runs and returned to claim 4 wickets for 27, helping to restrict the co-hosts to 107/8. In the next match against England, he finished with 3 wickets for 19 in a losing effort.
Shadley van Schalkwyk began the T20 World Cup 2026 with a four-wicket haul against India on February 7. He varied his pace to perfection to help reduce India to 77/6 at one point, though the co-hosts found a way out. In the next match against Pakistan, the pacer returned with identical figures of 4/25.
Tim Seifert has been a key player in New Zealand's run to the T20 World Cup final. He has scored 274 runs across eight matches with eight half-centuries.
Seifert started the tournament in style with fifties against Afghanistan and the UAE, but it was his 58 against South Africa in the semi-finals that was his most important knock of the event thus far.
The opener combined with Finn Allen for a partnership of 117 at the top of the order as the Black Caps successfully chased down the victory target of 170 inside 30 overs.
