Pakistan captain Babar Azam is the ICC ODI player of the year for the second consecutive year. The player, who was full of best performance in 2021, scored 679 runs in nine matches including three centuries in 2022. The player has been maintaining the first position in the ODI batting rankings. The number one title was acquired in July 2021. It has not been released since then. Pakistan lost only one ODI under Babar Azam in 2022 as captain. This is what the others did far behind her and deserved the award for the second time.
“The match-winning batting performance, the explosive attacking batting and the memorable moments as an individual and as a captain made him worthy of the award,” the ICC said in a news release.
Babar Azam was recently selected as the captain of the ICC men’s ODI team. Australia’s Travis Head, West Indies’ Shai Hope, India’s Shreyas Iyer and New Zealand’s Tom Latham competed with Babar Azam in batting. Shreyas Iyer’s score was 724 in 17 matches. Sikandar Raza, who has performed well for Zimbabwe with three centuries and two fifties, is also in the lead this time.
England player Ben Stokes is the ICC Test Player of the Year. Stokes helped England win nine out of 10 Tests to win the series against New Zealand and South Africa. They beat Pakistan 3-0 at home. Stokes scored 870 runs including two centuries in batting. Countryman Jonny Bairstow, Australian player Usman Khawaja, South African Kagiso Rabada and others were also in the running, but Stokes’ selection was way ahead.
