Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam, wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi have a message for their fans after receiving ODI Cricketer of the Year, T20I Cricketer of the Year and ICC Player of the Year awards respectively. All three cricketers took to their social media to express their gratitude for achieving the feat.
Read More – Babar Azam named ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
Taking to Twitter, Babar expressed his gratitude for being named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2021.
“I am thankful to Almighty, my family, friends, and fans who always push me to do better with all their love and trust,” he said in a tweet.
This is the third mention of Babar Azam in the ICC Awards 2021. He was earlier announced as the captain of the T20 and ODI teams of the year by the ICC.
Similarly Rizwan, after being declared the T20I Cricketer of the Year, took to Twitter to thank the Almighty.
“Alhumdulillah. Bus Allah se hota hai. Allah k ghair se nahi hota,” he wrote.
He further added: “I am grateful to everyone for their support and love. In sha Allah, the journey has just started. This award is dedicated to Pakistan and the beautiful people of Pakistan.”
The player aggregated a staggering 1,326 runs in only 29 matches at an average of 73.66 and a strike-rate of 134.89 last year.
Read More – ‘Sirf Allah se hota hai’: Mohammad Rizwan after scoring 2,000 record T20 runs in a year
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Rizwan was “as solid as ever behind the stumps”, playing a key role in Pakistan’s run to the semi-final during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, where he ended up as the third-highest run-scorer.
Pakistan’s “tall boy” Afridi, as noted by ICC, also joined Babar and Rizwan in expressing his joy and gratitude by posting a tweet.
“Almighty has been very kind to me. I’m extremely grateful for all the love sent my way,” he wrote.
Afridi took 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20 with the best bowling figures of 6/51.
The 21-year-old speedster was on fire throughout 2021, knocking some of the best batters over across all three formats of the game.
He especially had a year to remember in Tests and T20Is, reaching his peak during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE where he impressed one and all with his sheer speed and skills. His exceptional spell against India in the ICC T20 World Cup was the cherry on the top for the Pakistan cricket fans. He sent Indian openers KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli to the pavillion in the clash with India. He conceded only 31 runs in his four overs.
