Babar Azam wins Men's ODI cricketer of the year 2021

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been named as the Men's ODI cricketer of the year. He was earlier announced as the captain of the men's T20 and ODI team of the year.

The Pakistani cricketer played just six ODI matches last year but had an outstanding run with the bat. He beat Shakib-Al-Hasan, Janneman Malan, and Paul Stirling to win this award on Monday.

He was the second-highest run-scorer in the series against South Africa, with 228 runs to his name. Pakistan won the series 2-1, and Azam was awarded Player of the Match in both the winning games. He scored a century in one of the games in their tour.

In their whitewash by England in England, Babar was the lone wolf with 177 runs in the series. He did not get any support from his teammates, with no one scoring more than cumulative 100 runs in the series. Babar scored a century in one match of this series as well.

Reflecting on his best performance of the year, Babar Azam in his acceptance speech said, "The century against England was his favorite as it came in challenging conditions. This was his career-best performance."

Pakistan, playing for pride after losing the first two matches, was in a challenging spot as World Super League points were at stake in the final game of the England tour. They were asked to bat first, and Azam was the architect of the innings in their total of 331. He scored a century in the match.

Azam was cautious at first after walking in to bat early on. He scored his 50 in 72 balls. He completed his century in the next 32 balls. After his century, he exploded as the milestone was out of the way. He scored his career-best 158 runs before losing his wicket to Brydon Carse in the last over.

James Vince's and Lewis Gregory's 129-run stand for the 6th wicket did not allow Pakistan to win the final match of the series.