Dubai: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was on Monday named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year while England Test captain Joe Root took home the top honours in the red-ball category, beating competition from, among others, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Babar’s team-mate and left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi won the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year. He has been bestowed the honour for taking 78 wickets across formats in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20 in 2021.
The 27-year-old Babar scored 405 runs in six games at an average of 67.50 in 2021. He was the second-highest run-scorer with 228 runs and was the Player of the Match in both of Pakistan’s wins in the 2-1 series victory against South Africa.
England Test team captain, Joe Root wins test Cricketer of the Year.
The magnitude of Root’s sublime form in Test cricket in the year 2021 can be summed up by one simple stat — he has become only the third player in history to aggregate over 1700 runs in Test cricket in a calendar year. Only Mohammad Yousuf and Sir Vivian Richards stand ahead of him.
Afridi had a phenomenal 2021 across all three formats of the game, especially in Tests and T20Is. He was on fire in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE, where he impressed one and all with his sheer speed and skills.
Afridi ruled the shortest format of the game throughout the calendar year, scalping 23 wickets in 21 matches.
Lizelle Lee takes home women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year.
South Africa opener Lizelle Lee was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year for her scintillating performance which saw her finish as the highest run-scorer in 2021 in the format.
The hard-hitting batter had two scores of 40 plus and played a vital role in South Africa’s sweep off Pakistan.
South Africa umpire Marais Erasmus was named the Umpire of the Year for the third time after receiving the honour in 2016 and 2017.
The 57-year-old officiated in the just-concluded series between hosts South Africa and India.
On top of the T20 World Cup final, Erasmus oversaw 20 international fixtures across the three formats in 2021.