Abhishek Sharma Snubbed As Ignored India Star Named His Player Of The Tournament For T20 World Cup 2026

T20 World Cup 2026 will kick-start from February 7, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will be taking on Netherlands in the opening match of the tournament, while India will begin their campaign against USA on the same day. The high voltage clash between the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan will be played on February 15 in Colombo. All eyes will be on Suryakumar Yadav and Co, who are currently in a red-hot form in the T20Is and also the defending champions of the tournament.

Ahead of the T20I World Cup, ignored India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was asked his pick for Player of the Tournament award.

Surprisingly, Chahal snubbed star batter Abhishek Sharma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav and named star pacer Jasprit Bumrah as his pick.

#YuzvendraChahal ki भविष्यवाणी!

As #TeamIndia are en route to defeat history, comment your predictions for this World Cup!

ICC Men's #T20WorldCup 2026 #INDvUSA | SAT, FEB 7, 6 PM pic.twitter.com/CPF3kOXHHJ

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 31, 2026

However, he also named Abhishek as the top batter of the tournament and also the batter with the most number of sixes.

For the unversed, Bumrah also bagged the Player of the Tournament award in 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup, where he took 15 wickets in eight matches. He also played a game-changing role in the final match, where India defeated South Africa by seven runs.

Talking about Abhishek, the left-handed India opener is in a terrific form. Earlier on Wednesday, he extended his lead at the top of the T20I batters rankings after scoring half-centuries in two matches of the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

The left-hander now boasts a rating of 929 points, just two shy of his career-best mark of 931 achieved during last year's Asia Cup, and holds an 80-point advantage over England's Phil Salt, who remains second. India's Tilak Varma occupies third place, underlining the country's dominance in the shortest format.

Former world No.1 batter Suryakumar Yadav also climbed the rankings, jumping five places to seventh following his unbeaten 57 in the third T20I in Guwahati. The stylish right-hander has been in impressive touch in recent tournaments, adding depth and firepower to India's batting lineup heading into the global event, now just days away.

(With ANI Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Jasprit Bumrah Abhishek Sharma Yuzvendra Chahal T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket