KARACHI: Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali and Babar Azam were among the big winners at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s annual awards here on Wednesday night. Abbas was named the Test Cricketer of the Year, while Hasan and Babar walked away with the corresponding honour in ODIs and T20Is. Abbas had a phenomenal introduction to Test cricket in April 2017, and in the five Tests that Pakistan played over the last 12 months, the 28-year old swing bowler has picked up 27 wickets in five Tests at an average of 16.85. Hasan built upon his excellent start to international cricket over the past year, taking 26 wickets in 12 matches at an average of just 18, and an outstanding economy rate of 4.76. His best performance of 5 for 34 came in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, as part of a series whitewash inflicted upon the visitors. In addition, there were five other instances of the pacer snaffling three-wicket hauls in the last 12 months. Babar, 23, walked away with the highest T20I honour, for racking up 489 runs in just 12 innings, at an average of 54.33. He scored four half-centuries during this period, including an unbeaten 97 against West Indies; Pakistan’s second highest individual T20I score.
Islamabad United’s Faheem Ashraf was named Emerging Player of the Year for his consistent performances in all three formats. Ashraf, who made his debut for Pakistan during the 2017 Champions Trophy, has so far represented the Men in Green in three Tests, 12 ODIs and 17 T20Is, where he has claimed 38 wickets and scored 270 runs. Left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman was presented the Special Award for Outstanding Performance for his heroics in the last 12 months. Zaman also made his debut for Pakistan in the Champions Trophy last year and recently became the fastest to reach 1000 runs in the ODI format. The Lahore Qalandars’ opener also became the first Pakistan batsman to score a double-century in the 50-over format.
In other developments on the night, captain Sarfraz Ahmed walked away with the Imtiaz Ahmed Spirit of Cricket accolade, whereas Sana Mir, Javeria Khan and Diana Baig bagged Women’s ODI, T20I and Emerging Player of the Year awards.
Winners at PCB annual awards 2017-18:
1: Best Test Player of the Year (Men): Mohammad Abbas, bowler (27 wickets), Rs 0.6 million
2: Best ODI Player of the Year (Men): Hasan Ali, bowler (33 wickets), Rs 0.6 million
3: Best ODI Player (Women): Sana Mir (259 runs & 21 wickets), Rs 0.6 million
4: Best T20 Player of the Year (Men): Babar Azam, batsman (489 runs), Rs 0.6 million
5: Best T20 Player (Women): Javeria Khan, batswoman (173 runs), Rs 0.6 million
6: Best Emerging Player (Men): Faheem Ashraf, Rs. 0.6 million
7: Best Batsman Domestic (Men): Shan Masood, (1857 runs), Rs 0.5 million
8: Best Batswoman Domestic (Women): Javeria Khan (356 runs), Rs. 0.5 million
9: Best Bowler Domestic (Men): Aizaz Cheema (78 wickets), Rs. 0.5 million
10: Best Bowler Domestic (Women): Diana Baig (18 wickets), Rs. 0.5 million
11: Best Wicketkeeper Domestic (Men): Kamran Akmal (54 victims), Rs 0.5 million
12: Best Wicketkeeper (Women): Sidra Nawaz (27 victims), Rs. 0.5 million
13: Best Player of the Year (Blind): Amir Ishfaq, Rs. 0.5 million
14: Best Player of the Year (Deaf & Dumb): Muhammad Naveed Qamar, Rs 0.5 million
15: Best Player of the Year (Disable): Nihaar Alam, Rs 0.5 million
16: Best Umpire of the Year: Muhammad Asif Yaqoob, Rs 0.3 million
17: Best Coach of Year: Sajjad Akber (LCCA), Rs 0.3 million
18: Best Referee of the Year: Mohammad Anees (Lahore) Rs 0.3 million
19: Best Scorer of the Year: Azhar Hussain (Lahore) Rs 0.2 million
20: Best Curator of the Year: Riaz Ahmed (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium), Rs 0.2 million
Published in Daily Times, August 10th 2018.