"Sam Curran will give Suryakumar Yadav tough competition" - Saba Karim on ICC T20I Player of the Year award

Former India keeper-batter Saba Karim believes that Suryakumar Yadav and Sam Curran are the frontrunners to win the ICC T20I Player of the Year award.

Karim pointed out that while both Suryakumar and Curran deserve to win, the latter could take the prize if the jury gives more weightage to the T20 World Cup 2022 performances. He, however, emphasized that the Indian batter could be crowned the winner if they analyze who has done better throughout the year.

Speaking to India News Sports on Thursday, December 29, Karim said:

"Sam Curran will give Suryakumar Yadav tough competition. Curran played exceptionally well for England at the T20 World Cup. If the jury makes the decision based on the T20 World Cup, Curran could win the award. But if we look at the whole year and see who is the player who has changed T20 cricket, Suryakumar deserves to win."

Notably, Suryakumar is the leading run-getter in T20Is in 2022. The right-handed batter went on to amass 1164 runs in 31 matches and is currently the No. 1 ranked batter in the format.

Curran, on the other hand, was instrumental in England's T20 World Cup 2022 win. He was the Player of the Tournament at the showpiece event. The talented youngster has 67 runs and 25 wickets to his name in 19 T20Is.

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"Sam Curran has a slight edge over Suryakumar Yadav" - Reetinder Singh Sodhi

During the discussion, former all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi stated that Sam Curran could beat Suryakumar Yadav to win the ICC T20I Player of the Year award.

He pointed out that Curran has performed admirably in white-ball cricket lately, helping his team clinch the T20 World Cup trophy in Australia. Sodhi believes Suryakumar would have won the prize had he guided the Men in Blue to a championship triumph at the ICC event.

Sodhi explained:

"I think Sam Curran has a slight edge over Suryakumar Yadav. His value has increased significantly of late. We saw how the franchises went all out to sign him at the IPL auction. His performances have been fantastic, even during the T20 World Cup.

"Suryakumar would have definitely gotten the award had he won the World Cup for India. Considering Sam Curran's performances at the all-important World Cup, he appears to be the frontrunner."

It is worth mentioning that Curran was in great demand at the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction in Kochi. He became the most expensive player in the cash-rich league's history after being picked up by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a whopping ₹18.50 crore.