Pakistan’s wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has been named the ICC men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2021, while a young female cricketer of the Pakistan women’s cricket team Fatima Sana has been named ICC women’s Emerging Player of the Year.
Rizwan, who also won the PCB’s Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year award recently following a stellar year, scored 1326 runs in 29 T20Is at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89. He was also responsible for 22 dismissals behind the stumps in the format.
At the Men’s T20 World Cup, where Pakistan lost in the semi-finals, Rizwan finished as the third-highest run-getter with 281 runs in six matches. In 2021, Rizwan also became the first batter to touch the 1000-run mark in a calendar year in T20Is, and the 2000-run mark in T20s.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s Fatima Sana, a seam-bowling allrounder, was named ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year. Sana, 20, claimed 24 wickets and scored 165 runs in 16 games across ODI and T20I cricket in 2021.
Apart from playing West Indies at home, she also toured South Africa and the West Indies, and played the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Her most eye-catching performance came in an ODI in Antigua in July, when she hit an unbeaten 28 off 19 and then took her maiden international five-wicket haul to help Pakistan to a win.
Twitter was flooded with the congratulatory messages for both cricketers
PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja congratulated Rizwan on a “well deserved achievement”. He lauded the cricketer, saying:
“Your humility, attitude and hard work defines you,” and wished more laurels and success to him.
Meanwhile, PCB’s official Twitter account also posted a congratulatory tweet for Rizwan.
Srilankan cricketer Dimuth Karunarathna, Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan and many took to Twitter to congratulate Rizwan.
Senator Faisal Javed Khan also congratulated “Pakistan’s star cricketer” on Twitter. He also congratuled Fatima in another tweet.
Taking to Twitter, Rizwan said that the journey has just started.
While Fatima said that she is honoured, humbled and overwhelmed.
