What did Pakistanis Google in 2021? Cricket, obviously!

Published December 8, 2021
Pakistan's team members celebrate their victory at the end of the Twenty20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on October 24. — AFP/File
Pakistan's team members celebrate their victory at the end of the Twenty20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on October 24. — AFP/File

Google on Wednesday released its annual lists detailing the most searched trends, athletes and moves and TV shows in Pakistan during 2021. To no one's surprise, the nation's cricket fever continued unabated, much like 2018, 2019 and 2020.

According to Google, the annual lists are based on search terms that had the highest spike this year compared to the previous year.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and a barrage of new variants, major cricketing events such as the Men's T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League went ahead. The year also saw Pakistan beat India in a World Cup fixture for the first time.

For these reasons, and for many more, all ten of the top searches for 2021 were cricket-related, while all the most-searched athletes were cricketers.

The following are Google's top trends for 2020 in the Searches, Athletes, and Movies & TV categories:

Searches

Pakistan vs South Africa was the most at the top of the list. Earlier this year, the latter arrived in Karachi to play two Tests and three Twenty20 internationals on their first tour of Pakistan in 14 years. In February, Pakistan managed to win its first Test series against South Africa since 2003.

  • Pakistan vs South Africa
  • Pakistan vs West Indies
  • Pakistan Super League
  • Pakistan vs England
  • T20 World Cup
  • Pakistan vs Zimbabwe
  • India vs England
  • Pakistan vs England
  • Pakistan vs New Zealand
  • Pakistan vs Australia

Athletes

All-rounder Shoaib Malik was the most searched athlete by Pakistanis in 2021 for a praise-worthy performance in the T20 World Cup. The cricketer and his wife, tennis star Sania Mirza, are also slated to host a talk show.

  • Shoaib Malik
  • Asif Ali
  • Fakhar Zaman
  • Shaheen Afridi
  • Hasan Ali
  • Mohammad Rizwan
  • Shadab Khan
  • Abid Ali
  • Danish Aziz
  • Haris Rauf

Movies and TV

Blood, violence, animatronic dolls and subtitles did not deter Pakistanis as Netflix's mega-hit 'Squid Game' was the most googled in the movies and TV category. Surprisingly, Mahira Khan's 'Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay' was nowhere on the list while Khuda Aur Mohabbat starring Feroze Khan and Iqra Aziz came in second.

  • Squid Game
  • Khuda Aur Mohabbat
  • Chupke Chupke
  • Rang Mahal
  • Radhe
  • Bigg Boss 15
  • Money Heist
  • Ertugrul
  • Black Widow
  • Eternals

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