Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan paceman Shaheen Afridi was named player of the year by the International Cricket Council on Monday, with England captain Joe Root selected as the outstanding Test cricketer in 2021. Afridi’s 78 wickets in 36 internationals across different formats secured him the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, with best bowling figures of 6-51 in a Test match against the West Indies. He claimed 47 wickets in only nine Tests at an impressive average of 17.06 and took seven wickets in six matches during Pakistan’s run to the semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup. “In 2021 our team performed really well and we won some very good matches,” the 21-year-old said. “I had many good performances including five-fors in Tests but the most memorable one for me would be the one we won against India (he took three wickets against them at the T20 World Cup),” he added. “It was a historical match and matches with India draw a big audience.”

Root picked up the award for men’s Test player of the year after scoring 1,708 runs in 15 matches in 2021. His tally is the third-highest total on record in a calendar year, with only former Pakistan player Mohammad Yousuf and West Indies great Viv Richards ahead of him. Root registered two double centuries and a further four hundreds, including three in successive Tests against India during England’s home series.