Rizwan and Tammy become ICC T20I cricketers of the year

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and England’s Tammy Beaumont have become ICC T20I cricketers of the year in the men and women category, said a media release from International Cricket Council.

As part of the 2021 edition of the ICC Awards, ICC announced the names of the T20I cricketers in men’s and women’s international cricket. 

Pakistan’s ace wicketkeeper-batter, Mohammad Rizwan was voted the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2021, whilst England’s Tammy Beaumont was voted the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2021.

The captain of Oman’s men’s cricket team Zeeshan Maqsood was voted as the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year for his fantastic performance in 2021.

In the women’s category, Austrian all-rounder Andrea-Mae Zepeda was voted as the ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year for her stellar performance in 2021

Aggregating a staggering 1326 runs in only 29 matches, Rizwan averaged at 73.66 and had a strike rate of 134.89. Apart from his exploits with the bat, he was as solid as ever behind the stumps, playing a key role in Pakistan’s run to the semi-finals during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, where he ended up as the third-highest run-scorer.

Earlier in the year, Rizwan also scored his maiden T20I century against South Africa in Lahore and ended it continuing his form with a brilliant knock of 87 against West Indies in Karachi.

Commenting on receiving the honour Mohammad Rizwan, said: “I had an exceptional year in the shortest format of the game, and I am thankful to all my colleagues and peers for voting me as the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year. This award gives me further motivation and incentive to do even better in 2022 and beyond for Pakistan so that we can collectively achieve our objective of being the top T20I playing side and in the process enhancing our fan base.

“I want to thank all my teammates and coaching staff who helped me throughout the year by preparing and training me well enough to contribute to Pakistan’s successes. As cricket is a team sport, I would like to dedicate this award to my teammates and fans.”

Commenting on her award Tammy Beaumont said: “It’s a huge privilege to win the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year Award. I’ve worked incredibly hard on my T20 game in the last few years. My T20I career has had its ups and downs and I don’t think I’ve always been known for my T20 abilities, so this award gives me a huge amount of confidence,” she said.