Travis Head, Arshdeep Singh, Babar Azam, and Sikandar Raza are the nominees for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year title. However, many have been taken aback by Babar’s nomination. With a peak score of 75 not out against Ireland in May at The Village in Dublin, Babar amassed 738 runs from 24 games during the time under consideration at an average of 33.54. His inclusion has come as a surprise because cricket’s top governing body did not nominate the likes of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah who were extremely impactful in the recent T20 World Cup 2024.
ICC snubs Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah
ALSO READ: ‘Australia ko lag raha hai ye 2008 hai’: Irfan Pathan brutally trolls Pat Cummins after he tries to review 3rd umpire’s decision; watch video
Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah had a great year in the T20I format and were instrumental in India’s T20 World Cup triumph. Rohit scored 378 runs in 11 T20I matches with 121 not out being his highest score. He scored 257 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a strike rate of 156.70. Hardik Pandya has amassed 352 runs in 14 innings with a strike rate of 150.42 and also 16 wickets. Then in the T20 World Cup he scored 144 runs and picked 11 wickets. He also bowled the famous last over that ended India’s ICC trophy drought.
Then for Jasprit Bumrah, it has been nothing but greatest in the recent times. He is the biggest nightmare for batters across the globe and across all formats. He has 15 wickets in 8 matches with an economy of just 4.17 and an average of 8.26. These numbers are nothing but extraordinary. He was also the Player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Jasprit Bumrah knocks over Sam Konstas to avenge most expensive over of his Test career, mocks him in celebration as Australian crowd boos
Big question on Babar Azam’s impact
Although, Babar Azam is the highest run-scorer in T20I format among everyone in the full-member nations, his impact as a player for his team has not been that remarkable. Babar has 738 T20I runs this year with six fifties. Even his campaign in the T20 World Cup was far from impressive as he could only score 122 runs. Neither of his knocks could create an impact for the Men in Green side. Even ICC could only mention his 75-run knock against Ireland in a bilateral contest for his most remarkable knock this year.
Fans have been stating that Indian stars like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who were an instrumental part of India’s T20 World Cup triumph, should have been nominated in place of the former Pakistan captain.
