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Cricket PlayersKohli vs Shami vs Rohit: Gavaskar torn between 2 'selfless, fantastic' India stars as WC 2023 Player of the Tournament
Gavaskar believes that the Player of the Tournament award should be rightfully given to an Indian player but was left torn between two star cricketers.
India's sensational run to the 2023 World Cup final has been laced with exceptional individual performances. If it wasn't Rohit Sharma, it was Virat Kohli. If it wasn't the former India captain, it was KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer and if it wasn't the batters then the bowlers, inspired by Mohammed Shami, helped India remain unbeaten in the tournament. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar hence believes that the Player of the Tournament award should be rightfully given to an Indian player but was left torn between two star cricketers.
Speaking to India Today ahead of India's World Cup final match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Gavaskar picked Kohli as his first choice for the prestigious award as the 1983 winner hailed his consistency through the tournament. Kohli smashed a record-breaking 711 runs in 10 matches with eight fifty-plus knocks, which includes three centuries that helped him go past Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record of most ODI centuries.
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“I’d like to pick two, and both are Indians. Kohli, only for the way he has batted right throughout the tournament, getting to a record of 50 centuries. Nobody has done that before. So that is absolutely fantastic to see. And his consistency, he’s got a half-century and more in every game,” Gavaskar said.
The former India captain then picked Rohit as his second choice not only for his aggressive and selfless batting at the top of the order which has helped set India the right tempo early on, but also for his stellar leadership throughout the tournament.
“Rohit Sharma, the way he’s paved the way for the batters coming down the order, batting so selflessly, getting to the 40s. Not looking to push the ball around and take the singles, but trying to get after the ball as quickly as possible, getting the Indian team off to an offline start, which puts the pressure back on the opposition bowlers. Even in the toughest of situations, he’s shown a calmness that has actually percolated to the rest of the team. He’s got this great ability to motivate his team. And there’s a calmness about the team; there’s a sense of oneness about the team, which is so nice to see,” Gavaskar further added.
Gavaskar however snubbed Shami, who has played a pivotal role in the bowling department. Coming off the bench in India's fifth game in the World Cup after Hardik Pandya was ruled out with an injury, Shami picked 23 wickets in six matches which included three five-wicket hauls. His most notable show came in the semifinal against New Zealand where he broke the threatening century stand between Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell with a seven-fer.
