Babar Azam named captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year

DUBAI – The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday revealed the names of the XI players who make the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year, with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as the captain of the squad.

No other Pakistani player makes it to the prestigious list, which was dominated by Australian, New Zealand, and Windies players.

In a statement issued for the announcement of Men’s ODI Team of the Year, the top cricket body said “ICC Team of the Year recognises 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed one and all – be it with the bat, the ball or their all-round exploits in a calendar year.”

The list includes Travis Head (Australia), Shai Hope (West Indies), Shreyas Iyer (India),Tom Latham (wk) (New Zealand), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh), Alzarri Joseph (West Indies), Mohammed Siraj (India), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Adam Zampa (Australia).

Picture courtesy: www.icc-cricket.com

In its statement, ICC said Babar once again demonstrated his skill in the 50-over format, demonstrating why he has ruled the roost at the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings since July 2021.

Pakistani skipper has simply excelled in the race for his exceptional and splendid batting technique and classic display. For the last one decade, he arose himself as the finest batsman Pakistan ever produced and leading batsman at international level. He emerged as glittering star with his meritorious commitment, professional flair and self-belief.

At the international cricket T20 leagues, Babar Azam proved his mettle as the most reliable batsman while representing different international tournaments. He has played some phenomenal innings in BPL, CPL and England Somerset tournament. He scored century on 16th September 2020 against Glamorgan during t20 Blast county cricket competition.

The flamboyant player possesses several unique and matchless records as an international player including joint-fastest player in ODIs to score 1000 runs; 2nd Pakistani player who secured century in Australia; 1st player in ODI history to score 5 consecutive centuries; 1st Pakistani player to score fastest 3000 runs in ODI; 1st middle-order batsman to score 100 in a World Cup match after 32 years; joint-fastest batsman to score 1500 runs in T20; contributed in Pakistan highest Partnership in T20; leading Pakistani scorer in year 2016, 2017 and 2019; Pakistan’s leading Test scorer in 2018, 2019; No.1 ODI batsman in ICC rankings 2021; 4th ranked batsman in ICC T20 rankings 2022; fastest Asian batsman to score 11,000 runs; and named as captain of the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2021. 

Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf named in ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2022