LAHORE: Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam has been nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 Cricketer of the Year Award.
Babar, who is currently the top-ranked batsman in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and sixth in the T20I rankings, has been named alongside India’s Arshad Singh, Australia’s Travis Head and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.
The nomination came as despite a mixed year with the bat, the former Pakistan captain scored 738 runs in 24 matches at an impressive average of 33.54 with six half-centuries and nearly a hundred boundaries.
The outgoing year reflected an improvement in his strike rate, with the batsman scoring 133.21 runs per 100 deliveries.
The right-handed batsman’s best performance came in the three-match series against Ireland ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 when he smashed 75 off 42 balls with six fours and five sixes at an ideal strike rate of 178.57. Scored runs.
Meanwhile, designated India left-arm pacer Arsdeep enjoyed a stellar year in the format, picking up 36 wickets in 18 matches at an impressive average of 13.5 and taking figures of 4-9.
His best performance in the outgoing year came in the final of the T20 World Cup against South Africa, when he combined with paceman Jasprit Bumrah to impress India with a tough death bowling.
Australia head, who scored his first consecutive run in the line-up since making his T20I debut in 2016, proved his mettle in the format with 539 runs in 15 matches at an average of 38.5 and a top score of 80. .
His runs are the second best by an Australian batsman in a calendar year and his strike rate is 178.47.
Zimbabwe’s Reza has been nominated for the prestigious award for the third consecutive year as he continues to deliver for Chevron.
Raza scored 573 runs at an average of 28.65 in 24 matches and top scored with 133 not out, which came in Zimbabwe’s unbeaten run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup sub-regional Africa qualifiers.
He was equally impressive with the ball, taking 24 wickets at an average of 22.25 and best bowling figures of 5-18.