Cricket opinion: The top five players from the 2026 T20 World Cup
In one of the most one-sided finals in the history of the sport, India became the first side to ever go back-to-back in T20 World Cups.
Sports News Blitz writer Dejan Johal reviews some of the star performers by looking at the top five players from the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Sahibzada Farhan - Pakistan
Despite Pakistan not having the best of tournaments, one man proved to be their saviour throughout the tournament.
It proved to be a campaign to remember for their opener Sahibzada Farhan, who managed an incredible 383-run tournament, breaking Virat Kohli’s 319-run record set in 2014.
He averaged an incredible 76.60, with two centuries and two 50s to help carry the Pakistan batting into the Super 8s.
The opener scored nearly 38% of Pakistan’s runs in the tournament, showing his incredible talent in a struggling Pakistan batting line-up.
Ishan Kishan - India
Before this year and tournament, Ishan Kishan hadn’t played international cricket for India for over two years.
However, whether it was with the bat or with the gloves, he has proven to be one of the best players and stood out in a World Cup-winning team.
Fourth in the leading run-scorers for the tournament, with 317 runs and a brilliant strike-rate of 193.29.
He also has three 50s in the tournament, including one in the final off only 23 deliveries.
Constantly providing the acceleration at the top of the order, even with the poor form of Abhishek Sharma, has rightfully earned himself a spot on this list.
Will Jacks - England
Pressure situations is where England thrived the most in this tournament.
And no one has stood out more for them than Will Jacks.
Whether it was spinning England to an unlikely victory against Sri Lanka, or constantly providing late runs for them which massively contributed to victories, Jacks has been the clear stand-out in that England team.
Jacks picked up four Player of the Match awards in the eight games, enabling them to make the semi-finals of the tournament.
The hair colour may have changed, however the quality remains and Will Jacks was truly outstanding for England throughout the competition.
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Jasprit Bumrah - India
Many people could argue that this man deserves the number-one spot.
However, number two in my list goes to one of the game's all-time-great fast bowlers.
The leading wicket-taker for the tournament with 14, averaging an incredible 12.43 as well as an economy-rate of a mindblowing 6.21.
Realistically, what more can be said about Jasprit Bumrah?
Time after time in this tournament, he proved to be the difference maker with the ball, constantly deceiving batsmen with his variation and sheer quality.
He once again proved why he now takes his place amongst the greats of the game, and also why he takes place on this list.
Sanju Samson - India
And unsurprisingly, number one on my list goes to a man who didn’t start the tournament in the playing 11.
Many people over many years have often questioned Sanju Samson’s ability to transfer his IPL form to international cricket.
However, when called upon he stepped up and won India this tournament with the bat.
321 runs in five games at an average of 80.25, with a strike-rate of pretty much 200.
India’s top order struggled for balance at the beginning, but when he came into the side, that worry went away pretty quickly.
Samson’s 97 runs in a must-win game against West Indies, and then 89 runs in both the semi-final and final proved pivotal.
Samson’s story is about someone who failed time and time again, but never gave up and showed incredible resilience to keep going.
And at the age of 31, he seems to be playing his best cricket and continues to prove why you can’t ever write Sanju Samson off.
He rightfully earns the number one spot in this list and has definitely earned his place in the India starting line-up.
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