Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan nominated for Men’s ODI Player of the Year award
Babar Azam (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, South Africa opening batter Janneman Malan, and Ireland batter Paul Stirling have been nominated for the Men’s ODI Player of the Year award. All four players have had an exceptional year for their respective teams.
2021 was special for Shakib Al Hasan as he returned to action after serving a ban of two years (suspended for a year). The southpaw started the year with a bang by winning the Player of the Series award against West Indies in January 2021. He ended up scoring 113 runs and picking six wickets during the team’s 3-0 sweep.
Hasan was also the chief contributor in the series against Zimbabwe. He scored 145 runs and ended up picking eight wickets. Overall, he finished the year with 277 runs and 17 wickets.
Meanwhile, Babar had a great year for Pakistan in the six ODIs that he played. The right-hand batter scored a staggering 405 runs at an incredible average of 67.50. The Pakistan skipper managed to win two Players of the Series award against South Africa in the home and away series. The 27-year-old was also the team’s biggest positive during their 3-0 drubbing against England.
On the other hand, South Africa’s Malan announced his arrival in style in ODI format. The hard-hitting batter finished the year with 509 runs. Malan was South Africa’s biggest performer in series against Ireland, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Veteran Irish player Stirling also solidified his reputation as the country’s best player. He amassed 705 runs in 14 matches and finished the year as the leading run-scorer in ODIs.
