Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 23: Mohammad Rizwan, a Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, was awarded T20I Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday for his “consistency, indomitable spirit, and lots of magnificent knocks” last year.
Rizwan was also named to the ICC’s T20I team of the year earlier this week, alongside two other Pakistani players, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman ruled the roost in 2021 when it came to the shortest format of the game,” said the ICC.
Last year, the player amassed 1,326 runs in only 29 matches, with an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89.
Rizwan was “as steady as ever behind the wickets,” according to the cricket organisation, and played a significant role in Pakistan’s journey to the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer.
Early in the year, he also hit his first T20I century against South Africa in Lahore, and he finished the year with a “great knock” of 87 against the West Indies in Karachi.
“With another T20 World Cup coming up next year, Pakistan will hope that Rizwan continues in the same vein,” said the ICC.
Rizwan’s impressive innings in the World T20 match against India, which helped Pakistan beat its arch-rivals for the first time in any world cup, was also recognised by the international cricket body. In the high-profile encounter against India, Rizwan smashed an unbeaten 79 runs off 55 balls, striking six fours and three sixes.
