India Under-19 captain Uday Saharan, bowler Saumy Pandey and all-rounder Musheer Khan are in the running to to pick up the Player of the Tournament gong having been shortlisted as announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday.
Team India performed exceptionally well to reach the finals of the ICC Under 19 World Cup, for the fifth straight time with some emerging players showing great promise.
An official statement from the ICC read, "There have been many standout performers at this year's edition of the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup and the race to be named Player of the Tournament has been narrowed down to eight players."
Left-armer Saumy's ability to restrict the opposition from scoring runs has been instrumental in India's unbeaten run to the final of the tournament. His economy rate of 2.44 is the best among all bowlers in the competition with more than five wickets. He also has three four-wicket hauls to his name.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Musheer Khan is the only player in the U19 World Cup 2024 to score two centuries. Against New Zealand, Khan played his finest innings scoring 131. He also picked up some useful wickets with his left-arm spin to help reach the knockout rounds.
Skipper Uday Saharan showed his class throughout, but his influence grew as the tournament proceeded. His match-winning partnership with Sachin Dhas during which he scored 81 in the semifinal against South Africa saw India into the final.
In the Super Sixes stage, Saharan knocked a ton against Nepal. He has been able to adapt his playing style to suit the situations he faced during the tournament.
The nominees for Player of the Tournament: Kwena Maphaka (South Africa), Ubaid Shah (Pakistan), Saumy Pandey (India), Musheer Khan (India), Jewel Andrew (West Indies), Hugh Weibgen (Australia), Uday Saharan (India) and Steve Stolk (South Africa).
