ICC Criteria of Selecting Pakistan’s Babar Azam

405 runs in six matches at an average of 67.50 with two centuries.

Match-winning knocks, spell-binding stroke-play and memorable moments – 2021 turned out to be a year to remember for the winner of the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Award.

Played only six ODis in 2021, but he made vital contributions in the two series that Pakistan played this year.

Second-highest run-scorer with 228 runs and was the Player of the Match in both of Pakistan’s wins in the 2-1 series victory against South Africa.

Architect of Pakistan’s chase of 274 in the first ODI, Babar made a century and laid the foundation with an 82-ball 94 in the final ODI where the visitors posted 320 batting first.

Lone warrior for Pakistan when they were swept by England 3-0. He accumulated 177 runs in three games but found no support none of the other batters managed to score more than 100 in the series.

Pakistan with the series already lost were playing for pride as well as crucial ICC Cricket World Cup Super League points in the third ODI at Birmingham. Put in to bat first, Pakistan posted 331, with Babar scoring close to half of the team’s runs.