The International Cricket Council (ICC) continued to give out the 2021 ICC Awards. On Monday, winners of other categories were announced by the ICC. Indian women cricketer Smriti Mandhana was adjudged the Women's Cricketer of the Year. Her batting at the top-order was evident throughout 2021, as it helped India be competent.
Mandhana was even good in Australia in the ODIs and the Test, while she slammed her maiden Test ton in the day-night Test. "A year to remember 🤩 Smriti Mandhana's quality at the top of the order was on full display in 2021 🏏", captioned ICC in its social media post while announcing her the winner.
Azam scored 405 runs in six ODIs at 67.50, along with a couple of centuries. Pakistan had played two ODI series last year, while against South Africa, he was the second-highest run-scorer, with 228 runs. While the side suffered a 0-3 whitewash against England, Azam was the last man standing.
"First of all, I am thankful to the fans for supporting me and cheering me on. After that, I am grateful to PCB and ICC, especially my Pakistan team, for supporting and backing me. It wasn't possible without them. I feel proud to have such a good team. I am also thankful to my parents, who prayed a lot," Azam told ICC after winning the award.
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"The best innings, if you ask me, is that 158 I scored against England, which is also my highest score. I was struggling a bit at that time and needed a knock. I got it, and it gave me a lot of confidence. To beat South Africa in SA is a complicated task because the pitches are different, and they have a quality bowling attack," Azam added.