Fans question Shaheen Afridi’s omission from Test Player of the Year nominees

The Cricket’s governing body on Tuesday announced the nominees for the Test Player of the Year award, with England captain Joe Root, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson and Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne making the list.

The Pakistan fans were extremely disappointed to see no Pakistan player make the list. There have been some impressive performances by Pakistanis in 2021. Shaheen Shah Afridi has bagged 47 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 17.06. Hasan Ali has also done well in 2021.

Journalist Saj Sadiq was bemused by not seeing Afridi’s name in the list. He took to Twitter and wrote, “4 nominees for ICC Test player of the year – Joe Root, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kyle Jamieson and Dimuth Karunaratne. Surprised that Shaheen Shah Afridi who took 47 wickets (2nd highest) at an average of 17.06 isn’t included.

4 nominees for ICC Test player of the year – Joe Root, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kyle Jamieson and Dimuth Karunaratne. Surprised that Shaheen Shah Afridi who took 47 wickets (2nd highest) at an average of 17.06 isn't included #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) December 28, 2021

Another sports journalist Arsalan Siddique also expressed his shock over the omission of Afridi’s name. “Shaheen Shah has been phenomenal this year, in 9 matches managed to take 47 wickets. Also he’s 2nd most wicket taker this year after Ashwin and not even in nominees, SHOCKING,” he wrote.

Four nominees for ICC Test player award 2021

1 Joe Root
2 Ravi Ashwin
3 Jamieson
4 Karunaratne

Shaheen Shah has been phenomenal this year, in 9 matches managed to take 47 wicket Also he's 2nd most wicket taker this year after Ashwin and not even nominees, SHOCKING #Cricket

— Arsalan Siddique (@Sportsjourno01) December 28, 2021

⭐ Nominees for the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year 2021 include Joe Root (England), Ravichandran Ashwin (India), Kyle Jamieson (NewZealand) and Dimuth Karunaratne (Srilanka).

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali from Pakistan have not been included in the nominees. #cricket

— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) December 28, 2021

Meanwhile, the four players to make it to the list have had a terrific year. Root is the highest run-scorer in Test cricket this year, with 1708 runs in 15 matches. Ashwin has bagged 52 wickets in eight games, in addition to his 332 runs, which also includes a century against England in Chennai.

Kyle Jamieson took 27 wickets in 5 matches at 17.51. He was the Player of the Match in the Test Championship final, where he bagged seven wickets and scored a handy 21 runs in the first inning against India. Sri Lanka’s Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne scored 902 runs in 7 matches at an average of 69.38 with 4 centuries