Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Thursday bagged the ‘Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy’ after being announced as the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2022.
Babar Azam continued to raise the bar for himself in 2022, breaking more personal records while making sure Pakistan’s star shone brightly. Babar blew beyond that milestone while accumulating a huge 2598 runs at an intimidating average of 54.12. He was the only player to surpass the 2000-run barrier throughout the calendar year across all formats.
His haul of eight hundred and 17 fifties during the calendar year was Babar’s best of his career to date and there’s no doubt the dynamic right-hander is currently at the top of his game.
The 50-over format was ruled by the 2021 and 2022 ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year, who amassed 679 runs in nine games. His consistency is demonstrated by the fact that he recorded scores of 50 or more in eight of those innings. It came as no surprise that the 28-year-old was named the ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year for a second consecutive year given that he continues to occupy the top rank in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings.
Babar also had a fantastic year in Test cricket, despite the fact that his team’s results weren’t always favourable. In the longer format, he carried out the majority of the heavy lifting for Pakistan, scoring 1184 runs in just nine games.
Babar’s year as captain in the white-ball formats was especially noteworthy because Pakistan won all three ODI series they participated in, dropping just one game out of nine to Australia.
He guided Pakistan to their first Men’s T20 World Cup final since 2009 in the T20I format, when Babar’s team had placed second to eventual victors England.
One man stood between Australia defeating Pakistan in the second Test in Karachi when the chips were down and Pakistan was staring at defeat.
In the first innings, Pakistan was bowled out for 148, giving Australia a massive 408-run lead. With just over six remaining sessions, the visitors batted once more and set them a goal of 506 runs.
With only 21 runs on the board and five sessions left, Pakistan got off to the worst possible start, losing two wickets. As soon as Babar Azam entered the scene, a gruelling 10-hour marathon that almost prevented Pakistan from losing began. (ANI)
