LAHORE: Wicket-keeper/batter Mohammad Rizwan was named the Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year in the Pakistan Cricket Board Awards ceremony which was held on virtually on Thursday.

The stylish right-hander was also unanimously adjudged the T20 International Cricket of the Year by an independent panel, a PCB press release said.

Rizwan had an unforgettable 2021 in which he plundered opposition bowlers for 455 runs in Tests, 134 in One-day Internationals and 1326 in T20Is — most runs scored in a calendar year in the shortest format. Behind the wickets, the 29-year-old held on to 56 catches during the year.

He beat a host of superstars to emerge as the Most Valuable Cricket of the Year, with the other nominees being Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and pacers Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who also had numerous match-winning performances to their names during 2021.

“This is the PCB’s most prestigious award and to be recognised for my contributions in the team’s superlative performances across all formats in 2021 in such a way gives me tremendous satisfaction and happiness,” Rizwan was quoted as saying in the press release.

“I thought I had an exceptional year in the shortest format of the game when I was able to hit a century early in the year against South Africa and then carry that confidence and momentum for the rest of the year.

“I give a lot of credit to our bowlers who bowled their hearts out and didn’t let the pressure get onto the batters by maintaining sustained pressure on the opponents throughout the year.”

While Rizwan stood out in the shortest format to claim his prizes, it was Hasan who was rewarded for his brilliant show in the longest this year. The right-armer won the Test Cricketer of the Year award for his 41 wickets in nine matches. He also registered one 10-wicket haul and five five-fors during the year.

After a long gap away from the national side due to injury, Hasan made a memorable comeback bagging a 10-for against the visiting South Africa side in Rawalpindi. Pakistan won the series 2-0.

“Last year was sort of a comeback year for me after I had missed international cricket in 2020 due to an injury,” Hasan said. “I was not only able to make a successful return to international cricket but also played my part in the team’s overall success in 2021.

Though Pakistan played only six ODIs in 2021, captain Babar’s 405 runs in the format (two centuries and a half-century) earned him the ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

The highlight of 2021 for Pakistan was when their 29-year-old jinx of being beaten by arch-rivals India in World Cups was broken as they beat Virat Kohli’s side by 10 wickets in their T20 World Cup opener.

Shaheen’s fiery first over during that game, which saw Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul undone by the right-armers sheer pace and swing, was a moment to behold for the Pakistan fans.

The 21-year-old, for that performance, won the Impactful Performance of the Year award. He finished with figures of 3-31 in the match, with his third wicket being Kohli.

“For the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the team wanted an aggressive, fearless and convincing start to set the tone for the rest of the event and I am delighted that I was able to provide exactly that,” said Shaheen.

Mohammad Wasim Junior bagged the Emerging Cricketer of the Year for his 45 wickets in 2021, including 15 wickets in his first year of international cricket, while Nida Dar was named as the Women’s Cricketer of the Year after aggregating 604 runs and taking 25 wickets.

Sahibzada Farhan won the Domestic Cricketer of the Year following his 487 runs in the Pakistan Cup, 447 runs in the National T20 and 935 runs in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

For the second successive year, PCB’s elite match officials voted Asif Yaqoob as the Umpire of the Year.

Pakistan cricket team’s visit to the Namibia dressing room following their 45 runs victory to congratulate and appreciate them on their qualification for their maiden T20 World Cup and reaching the Super-12 stage won them the Spirit of Cricket award.

“On behalf of the PCB, I want to congratulate each award winner,” PCB chief Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying in the press release. “They deserve all the applause and accolades for their tremendous consistency across all formats in difficult times that inspired their sides to outstanding performances throughout 2021, which have been widely acknowledged by the Pakistan cricket fans.”

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2022