Pakistan captain Babar Azam has bagged his second successive ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award. The 28-year-old amassed 679 runs from nine matches at an average of 84.87 with three centuries. Pakistan also won eight ODI matches in a row last year and Babar played a pivotal role in his team’s success. His innings of 114 against Australia in Lahore remains his most memorable one yet.
The right-handed batter has become only the fourth player to win this award in successive years. India’s MS Dhoni was the first to achieve this feat in 2008 and 2009, South Africa’s AB de Villiers did it in 2014 and 2015, while India’s Virat Kohli bagged two awards in 2017 and 2018 respectively. No player has achieved this milestone three years in a row.
Babar has also been nominated for ICC Cricketer of the Year award. This award was won by Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi in 2021.
