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The ICC Awards are a yearly stage of cricket awards which was introduced in 20004 by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The awards acknowledge and praise the best international players in cricket. Let’s take a look at all the winners of ICC Awards 2021.
There are various categories of the ICC Awards. For both Men and Women, there are awards for best cricketer per format and the most prestigious award called “Cricketer of the Year” which recognizes a player’s performances across all formats.
We will look at the winners of the 2021 year.
ICC Awards 2021 – All winners
Here is the list of all winners of the ICC Awards, including umpires and women’s teams.
Men’s Award Winners for 2021
| Sir Garfield Sobers’ award for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Joe Root (England) |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Babar Azam (Pakistan) |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) |
| ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Janneman Malan (South Africa) |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Zeeshan Maqsood (Oman) |
Women’s Award Winners for 2021
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Smriti Mandhana (India) |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Lizelle Lee (South Africa) |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Tammy Beaumont (England) |
| ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Fatima Sana (Pakistan) |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Andrea-Mae Zepeda (Austria) |
Umpire award Winner for 2021
| Dave Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year | Marais Erasmus (South Africa) |
ICC Awards 2021 – Dream year for Pakistan
ICC Awards 2021 was special for Pakistan, as four national cricketers bagged awards. Mohammad Rizwan (for T20I Cricketer of the Year), Babar Azam (for ODI Cricketer of the Year), Shaheen Afridi (for Cricketer of the Year), and Fatima Sana (for Emerging Cricketer of the Year).
All four awards were won by them for the very first time in their respective categories. Let’s take a deep look at the categories won by our heroes.
Sir Garfield Sobers’ Award for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi
Considered to be the most prestigious of the awards, no Pakistan player won the award before. Shaheen Afridi not only became the first PAK cricketer to achieve this award but was also the youngest ever to win it.
The left-arm fast bowler took 78 wickets in 36 international matches. It came at an average of 22.20 and had the best bowling figures of 6-51. Shaheen was dominant across both Tests and T20Is and has been the key figure for PAK in some of the team’s memorial victories, including the 2021 World Cup match against India.
ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam
The captain of the national side, Babar Azam becomes the first PAK player to bagged the ODI of the year award. Babar, who has been in his prime form in his favorite format, has only played six One Day matches but made some lovely contributions.
The top-order batter scored 405 runs at an average of 67.50 with two centuries and a half-century. His career-best figures of 158 came against England and he also tied the record for most hundreds by a Pakistan captain in ODIs with Azhar Ali.
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan’s story is a fairytale. He was not considered by many fans to be in the eleven in the shortest format of cricket. But from the day he was pushed as an opener in National T20 Cup 2020 before in the New Zealand series, later on, his fortunes changed.
Rizwan made a record-breaking 1326 runs at an average of 73.66 in 29 matches. He scored only one century song with 12 fifties. He already broke records which no big T20 player could have done.
You can read more on Rizwan’s incredible year: The Year of Mohammad Rizwan in T20s
ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Fatima Sana
This is the first-ever award won by a Pakistan woman in Women’s cricket. It is already huge considering that women’s cricket is nowhere near where men are. You can read more about it here: Why Pakistan Women Cricket is hindered than other Countries?
The 20-year old took 24 wickets in 16 international matches at an average of 23.95. She also had fun with the bat, scoring 165 runs. Fatima impressed her teammates with her crucial all-around effort for the team.
Since we have taken a good look at the 2021 winners, how about we check out all previous ICC awards won by Pakistan. Take a look.
| Year | Award | Name |
| 2007 | Test Cricketer of the Year | Mohammad Yousuf |
| 2009 | Umpire of the Year | Aleem Dar |
| 2010 | Umpire of the Year | Aleem Dar |
| 2011 | Umpire of the Year | Aleem Dar |
| 2013 | T20I Performance of the Year (award discontinued) | Umar Gul (5-6 vs South Africa) |
| 2016 | Spirit of Cricket | Misbah ul-Haq |
| 2017 | Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the year | Hassan Ali |
| 2021 | Cricketer of the Year | Shaheen Afridi |
| 2021 | ODI Cricketer of the Year | Babar Azam |
| 2021 | T20I Cricketer of the Year | Mohammad Rizwan |
| 2021 | Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the year | Fatima Sana |
ICC Awards 2021 – Teams of the Year
Men’s Teams of the year
| Test XI of 2021 | ODI XI of 2021 | T20I XI of 2021 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne (SL) | Paul Stirling (IRE) | Jos Buttler (ENG) |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | Fakhar Zaman (PAK) | Mohammad Rizwan (PAK, WK) |
| Kane Williamson (NZ, C) | Babar Azam (PAK, C) | Babar Azam (PAK, C) |
| Joe Root (ENG) | Janneman Malan (SA) | Aiden Markram (SA) |
| Marnus Labuschagne (AUS) | Rassie vd Dussen (SA) | Mitchell Marsh (AUS) |
| Fawad Alam (PAK) | Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | David Miller (SA) |
| Rishabh Pant (IND, WK) | Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN, WK) | Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin (IND) | Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) | Tabraiz Shamsi (SA) |
| Kyle Jamison (NZ) | Simi Singh (IRE) | Josh Hazlewood (AUS) |
| Hasan Ali (PAK) | Mustafizur Rahman (BAN) | Shaheen Afridi (PAK) |
| Shaheen Afridi (PAK) | Dushmantha Chameera (SL) | Mustafizur Rahman (BAN) |
Women’s Teams of the year
| ODI XI of 2021 | T20I XI of 2021 |
| Lizelle Lee (SA) | Smriti Mandhana (IND) |
| Alyssa Healy (AUS) | Tammy Beaumont (ENG) |
| Tammy Beaumont (ENG) | Danni Wyatt (ENG) |
| Mithali Raj (IND) | Gaby Lewis (IRE) |
| Heather Knight (ENG, C) | Nat Sciver (ENG, C) |
| Marizanne Kapp (SA) | Amy Jones (ENG, WK) |
| Hayley Matthews (WI) | Laura Wolvaardt (SA) |
| Fatima Sana (PAK) | Marizanne Kapp (SA) |
| Jhulan Goswami (IND) | Sophie Ecclestone (ENG) |
| Shabnim Ismail (SA) | Loryn Phiri (ZIM) |
| Anisa Mohammed (WI) | Shabnim Ismail (SA) |
Also Read:
The History of Pakistan Super League – How it All Started
