Williamson, Root crunched between Pakistan’s Rizwan and Shaheen for ICC Player of the Year 2021 award

The International Cricket Council (ICC), after having announced the nominees for T20I and ODI players of the year in the Men’s category, announced the nominees for the Player of the Year award, the biggest honour in the year ending award shows that the ICC hosts every calendar year. 

The player which wins the award is presented with the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. The nominees include four players who had a superb year in all three formats and if not all three then, at least in one format to supersede performances of others in even all three formats of the game. 

England’s Test skipper Joe Root, who scored a record 17808 Test runs, most for any English batter in a calendar year and third-highest for any batter in the world ever. In total though, the 31-year-old scored 1855 runs in 18 international matches at an average of 58.37 with 6 centuries, two of which were double hundreds in challenging conditions such as India and Sri Lanka. 

Thanks to the solid performances, the Englishman even reached the summit of the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings for batting, 

Next on the list is Pakistan quick Shaheen Afridi. The 22-year-old was a revelation in world cricket this year. He took a total of 78 wickets in only 36 international matches at an average of 22.20. 

His most fulfilling performances came in the shortest format though as he scalped 23 wickets in 21 matches and shone brightly in Pakistan’s historic win over India in the T20 World Cup. In Tests too, the left-hander was able to get the ball move on his wishes as he took 7 wickets in only 9 matches at a staggering average of 17.06.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will also present his strong case for the award, not mainly as a player, but as a leader. Though he also has 693 runs in 16 internationals at an average of 43.31 with one century to boast of for a batter, it is mainly his leadership skills that put him up on the pedestal with the rest of the best players. 

He led New Zealand to its first-ever world title in cricket as the Kiwis own the World Test Championship 2021 by beating India in the final. He then carried that momentum and also saw his side claim the number one spot in Test rankings. It could have been icing on the cake had the Blackcaps managed to beat the Trans-Tasman rivals in the T20 World Cup final. 

Williamson tried his level best with a 43-ball 85 to propel his side to set up the highest total to chase in a World Cup final. But it wasn’t enough. But even the fact that his team was able to make the two world event finals in the same calendar year speaks volumes about his leadership skills. 

Last on the list is the Pakistan run machine for the year 2021, Mohammad Rizwan. The batter scored 1915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with 2 centuries to his name. He also had to his credit 56 dismissals as a wicketkeeper. 

His best however was shown in the t20iS where he scored staggering 1326 runs in only 29 matches at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89. His fighting spirit was also on display during the T20 World Cup where he took to the field in the semi-final even after having undergone severe treatment just days before the big game.