Babar Azam named ICC Men's ODI player of the year

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Babar Azam has been crowned the ODI Cricketer of the Year on Monday. This is Babar's 3rd honorary mention this year alongside the captain of the T20 and ODI teams of the year.

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The year 2021 proved to be one of the most remarkable and memorable years for the Pakistan cricket team as many Pakistani cricketers got nominations for the ICC awards due to their immense contribution to the team. Interestingly, he only played in 6 ODI matches but his performances were equally impactful and pivotal for the 2 series that Pakistan played. He aggregated 405 runs with an average of 67.50 including 2 centuries.

The Pakistan skipper was the second-highest scorer in the 3-match ODI series against South Africa. He scored 228 runs and became the Player of the Match in both the matches where Pakistan defeated South Africa. Pakistan in the tournament with a 2-1 series win.

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The next ODI series against England:

England might have defeated Pakistan 3-0 but Babar fought alone to win at least a match. In the 3rd ODI against England at Birmingham, Pakistan made 331 runs and Babar Azam was the one who scored close to half of the Pakistan team's runs. Pakistan batted first and Babar smashed 92 runs with Imam-ul-Haq and kept Pakistan out of trouble and worries. He hit a century in 72 balls and then moved forward to score the next 50 runs in only 32 balls. Also, this was a second ODI ton of 2021. He scored 158 runs in that match but before getting out, he thrashed in the death overs. Though he aggregated 177 runs in 3 matches, he did not get enough support from the other batters and failed to register a win.

His individual performance impressed everyone and as everyone expected, he won the deserving ICC Men's ODI player of the year