Mohammad Rizwan beat Babar Azam to win Pakistan's 'Most valuable Player of the Year'

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was declared as Pakistan's Most valuable Player of the Year 2021. Rizwan had a staggering 2021 and scored bulk of Pakistan's run in all three formats. He scored 455 Test, 134 ODI, and 1,326 T20I runs. He also accumulated 56 victims behind the stumps. Rizwan beat the likes of Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who too played a valuable role in Pakistan's juggernaut in 2021.

In addition to the Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year award, Rizwan was also adjudged T20I Cricketer of the Year by PCB.

"I feel humbled and honoured to have been adjudged Pakistan's Most Valuable Cricketer of 2021. This is the PCB's most prestigious award and to be recognised for my contributions in the team's superlative performances across all formats in 2021 in such a way gives me tremendous satisfaction and happiness," said Rizwan in a PCB release.

"I thought I had an exceptional year in the shortest format of the game when I was able to hit a century early in the year against South Africa and then carry that confidence and momentum for the rest of the year.

"I give a lot of credit to our bowlers who bowled their hearts out and didn't let the pressure get onto the batters by maintaining sustained pressure on the opponents throughout the year," he added.

Meanwhile, skipper Babar Azam was named the PCB's ODI cricketer of the Year. Babar along with Rizwan led Pakistan to many wins in 2021. The duo was instrumental in the team reaching the semifinals of the 20-20 World Cup. While Pakistan didn't play a lot of ODI cricket in 2021, Babar did well in the limited games they played. He scored 405 runs in six games, with two centuries and one half century.

Hasan Ali won the PCB's Test Cricketer of the Year award. The pacer took 41 wickets in nine Tests. "Test cricket is the pinnacle format of the game and to be adjudged as the Test Cricketer of the Year is a proud moment for me. Last year was sort of a comeback year for me after I had missed international cricket in 2020 due to an injury," said Hasan Ali.

"I was not only able to make a successful return to international cricket but also played my part in the team's overall success in 2021," he added.

Pakistan also ended their losing streak against India in global events and beat them in the 20-20 World Cup for the first time. Shaheen Shah Afridi set the tone of the win and broke of the spine of Indian batting with a three wicket haul. His 3- for 31 against India won him the Impactful Performance of the Year award by PCB.

"I am extremely happy that my performance against our traditional rivals in a global event has been chosen as the Impactful Performance of the Year," said Shaheen.

"For the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the team wanted an aggressive, fearless and convincing start to set the tone for the rest of the event and I am delighted that I was able to provide exactly that," he added.

Also, Mohammad Wasim Junior won the Emerging Cricketer of the Year after taking 45 wickets in 2021, including 15 international wickets. Nida Dar won the Women's Cricketer of the Year by PCB