T20 World Cup: Shadab MVP; SKY 2nd!

Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players in T20 World Cup 2022.

IMAGE: Shadab Khan celebrates with team-mates after dismissing Aiden Markram during the Pakistan-South Africa T20 World Cup match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, November 3, 2022. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan scored just 98 runs, but he scored them very rapidly at a strike rate of 169.

He took a lot of wickets (11; only Sam Curran had more with 13), at an economy rate of just 6.3, and he fielded brilliantly (even being occasionally foolhardy at the boundary line).

It is therefore no surprise that he emerged the most valuable player in the T20 World Cup with a MVPI of 367.

IMAGE: Suryakumar Yadav entertained everyone with his sensational strokeplay, smashing 239 runs at an outrageous strike rate of 190. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Suryakumar Yadav is just behind him with a MVPI of 340; and rightly so too because he scored 239 runs at an outrageous strike rate of 190.

You do wonder what his strike rate might have been if he had batted in the Powerplay.

IMAGE: The Shot of the World Cup! Virat Kohli hits Haris Rauf for a six in India's opening game against Pakistan, October 23, 2022. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Virat Kohli was third with a MVPI of 313; if Kohli had scored at SKY's strike rate he would have comfortably topped the table with his 296 runs.

The MVPI table tells more stories.

For example, there are eight Pakistani players in the top 50 (and this doesn't include Babar Azam!), and seven England players.

There are more middle order players (6) with a tally of around 100 runs and strike rate of over 155 than openers (2), suggesting that openers found it harder to get going.

Also, on the average, left arm fast bowlers took significantly more wickets than right arm fast bowlers.

Sikandar Raza

IMAGE: Sikandar Raza, with 219 runs and 10 wickets, proved pivotal assets for Zimbabwe with both bat and ball. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Finally, at least as a postscript, we must acknowledge the stupendous performance of Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe. If we 'merge' the data from the qualifying games, then Raza has a legitimate claim to be MVP. Check his numbers:

Most Valuable Player Index = Sum of batting, bowling and fielding points. Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

Rank	Player	Team	MVPI	Top Score	Runs	4s	6s	Strike Rate	Wickets	Economy Rate	Games
1	Sikandar Raza	ZIM	460	82	219	16	11	148	10	6.5	8

The 2022 World Cup offered us many more enticing battles between bat and ball than earlier T20 World Cups. Without the rain, it might have been the most compelling ever.

Most valuable players of the 2022 T20 World Cup: (Oct 22 – Nov 13, 2022)

Rank	Player	Team	MVPI	Top Score	Runs	4s	6s	Strike Rate	Wkts	Eco	Mts
1	Shadab Khan	PAK	367	52	98	7	5	169	11	6.3	7
2	Suryakumar Yadav	IND	340	68	239	26	9	189.7	0	-	6
3	Virat Kohli	IND	313	82	296	25	8	136.4	0	-	6
4	Jos Buttler	ENG	303	80	225	24	7	144.2	0	-	6
5	Sam Curran	ENG	267	6	12	0	1	85.7	13	6.5	6
6	Hardik Pandya	IND	263	63	128	7	7	132	8	8.1	6
7	Shaheen Afridi	PAK	255	16	22	2	1	183.3	11	6.2	7
8	Glenn Philips	NZ	248	104	201	19	8	158.3	0	-	5
9	Alex Hales	ENG	247	86	212	19	10	147.2	0	-	6
10	Anrich Nortje	SA	245	4	5	1	0	83.3	11	5.4	5
11	Dhananjaya de Silva	SL	243	66	132	11	3	126.9	6	7	5
12	Glenn Maxwell	AUS	222	54	118	11	6	161.6	3	6	4
13	Ben Stokes	ENG	217	52	110	7	1	105.8	6	6.8	6
14	Paul van Meekeren	NET	210	24	45	6	1	166.7	8	7.1	5
15	Michell Santner	NZ	208	16	27	0	2	168.8	9	6.5	5
16	Sean Williams	ZIM	199	64	135	14	1	120.5	3	6.1	5
17	Rilee Rossouw	SA	186	109	141	9	9	169.9	0	-	5
18	Haris Rauf	PAK	182	6	10	0	1	142.9	8	6.8	7
19	Quinton de Kock	SA	180	63	124	16	5	161	0	-	5
20	Kane Williamson	NZ	180	61	178	11	5	116.3	0	-	5
21	Mohammad Rizwan	PAK	173	57	175	15	3	109.4	0	-	7
22	Arshdeep Singh	IND	172	2	2	0	0	200	10	7.8	6
23	Sikandar Raza	ZIM	171	40	83	7	3	120.3	5	7.3	5
24	Najmul Hossain Shanto	BAN	169	71	180	20	2	114.6	0	-	4
25	Mohammad Wasim Jr	PAK	168	12	16	2	0	72.7	8	7.3	6
26	Litton Das	BAN	166	60	127	11	5	142.7	0	-	5
27	Shan Masood	PAK	163	52	175	12	1	118.2	0	-	7
28	Rashid Khan	AFG	159	48	57	4	4	178.1	4	6.4	3
29	Marcus Stoinis	AUS	157	59	126	7	9	161.5	1	9.7	4
30	Wanindu Hasaranga	SL	157	9	14	2	0	73.7	8	7.2	5
31	Mark Wood	ENG	156	0	0	0	0	-	9	7.7	4
32	Tim Southee	NZ	156	4	5	1	0	166.7	7	6.6	5
33	Devon Conway	NZ	155	92	145	12	2	116.9	0	-	5
34	Taskin Ahmed	BAN	152	12	23	2	1	76.7	8	7.3	5
35	Sakib Al Hasan	BAN	150	23	44	3	0	95.7	6	8.8	5
36	Trent Boult	NZ	150	0	0	0	0	-	8	7.4	5
37	KL Rahul	IND	148	51	134	9	8	126.4	0	-	6
38	Finn Allen	NZ	147	42	95	11	5	186.3	0	-	5
39	Liam Livingstone	ENG	145	29	55	4	1	125	4	8	6
40	Adil Rashid	ENG	145	0	0	0	0	-	4	6.1	6
41	Colin Ackermann	NET	144	62	148	12	4	116.5	0	5	5
42	Lorcan Tucker	IRE	143	71	128	13	2	128	0	-	4
43	Kushal Mendis	SL	142	68	120	10	5	129	0	-	5
44	Iftikar Ahmed	PAK	138	51	114	6	6	122.6	1	7.3	7
45	Joshua Little	IRE	133	8	9	0	1	90	7	6.9	4
46	Brandon Glover	NET	128	0	0	0	0	-	7	6.8	3
47	Ish Sodhi	NZ	125	6	7	0	0	100	6	6.7	5
48	Mitchel Marsh	AUS	124	45	106	8	6	130.9	0	14	4
49	Aiden Markram	SA	122	52	99	13	1	125.3	1	7	5
50	Mohammad Nawaz	PAK	122	28	68	7	2	106.3	3	7.4	7