The International Cricket Council (ICC) has nominated two Pakistani cricketers, wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year award. The nominees are selected for their match-winning knocks, sizzling spells, superhuman efforts and impeccable leadership in the cricket.
Alongside Rizwan and Shaheen, England skipper Joe Root and Kiwi captain Kane Williamson are also included in the list.
Shaheen had a memorable year, bagging 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20. He took 47 in Tests, 23 in T20Is and 8 in ODIs.
He stunned the cricketing world with his impressive spells in the T20 World Cup in UAE. His 3/31 against India was the best spell of the competition which handed Pakistan their first win over India in the World Cup history.
On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan was the best among the batters in T20I and Tests. He scored 1915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with 2 centuries. He is the highest run-getter of the year while he also registered the record of scoring most runs in 2021.
Rizwan also upped his game in Test cricket, scoring 455 runs in nine matches at an average of 45.50. Most importantly though, he was consistent throughout the year and played a variety of roles across all formats – be it getting Pakistan off to flying starts in the T20Is or stabilising things with the lower order in Test cricket.
Aggregating a staggering 1326 runs in only 29 matches, Rizwan struck at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89.
Apart from his exploits with the bat, he was as solid as ever behind the stumps, bagging 56 dismissals.
