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It wouldn't be wrong if said, 2018 was the best year for ICC associate countries playing cricket. Everyone saw Nepal's journey from Division 5 to an ODI playing nation and the rise of UAE and Hong Kong in the last year.
But above them all, what Afghanistan has achieved in the last two years is unimaginable. They were granted the full ICC membership along with Ireland, another up and coming force, on 22 July 2017, taking the number of Test playing Nations to 12.
ICC Awards started long back in 2004 and from then, ICC organizes these awards every year to facilitate the players for their performance.
So. let us now look at the deserving contenders for the ICC Associate Player of the Year 2018.
#5 Rohan Mustafa
The right-hand batsman hails from Kohat in the United Arab Emirates and is also the current captain of UAE. He has played 26 ODIs for his country and has scored 641 runs including a fifty and hundred with a batting average of 26.65. He bowls right-arm off-spin and has 28 wickets including a 5-wicket-haul.
Rohan Mustafa also holds the record for scoring a century and taking a 5-for in the same ODI.
The all-rounder has played 24 T20 matches and has scored 411 runs with the help of 2 half-centuries. He scored 77 runs off 50 balls against Afghanistan in the 2016 Asia Cup Qualifiers and became the highest scorer for UAE in T20Is.
He made his T20I debut against Australia last year and was also named the captain of UAE for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament. He also captained the side in the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifiers.
#4 Paras Khadka
Paras Khadka is the Captain of the Nepal Cricket Team. The all-rounder comes from Kathmandu which is the capital city of Nepal. He led Nepal from Division 5 to ODI playing Nation. He has scored 79 runs with the highest score of 51 in the 3 innings for Nepal. The right-handed batsman has 236 runs in 11 innings with an average of 23.6 in the T20Is.
He bowls right-arm medium pace and has 5 wickets in the ODIs and 2 wickets in the T20 format.
Khadka led the Nepal National Team to 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five. Later in 2012, the all-rounder scored 291 runs and took 9 wickets which helped Nepal win the 2012 ACC Elite Trophy.
Khadka was adjudged the Man of the Tournament in the 2013 ACC T20 Cup.
He was named the captain of Nepal National Team for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two. Khadka scored 241 runs in 6 innings with an impressive average of 48.2 including fifty and a hundred. He also won the Man of the Match award against UAE for his innings of 51.
#3 Calum MacLeod
Born in Glasgow, United Kingdom, Calum Macleod, plays for Scotland National Cricket Team. The right-handed batsman has represented Scotland in 2015 World Cup and 2016 World Twenty20. He has scored 1853 runs in 55 innings including 6 half-centuries and 7 centuries, at an average of 37.8.
He made his ODI debut long back in 2008 against England and has been a regular fixture in the Scottish Team since. MacLeod has also played 34 T20 matches and has scored 602 runs including 4 half-centuries.
He played a crucial role in Scotland's biggest win in the history against England last year, scoring 140 not out off 94 balls.
#2 Sandeep Lamichhane
The right-arm leg-spinner hails from Syangja in Nepal and is the only Nepalese cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League. He plays in all the T20 leagues across the world including Melbourne Stars in BBL and Sylhet Sixers in the BPL.
He played a huge role in helping Nepal Cricket Team become an ODI Nation. He has 8 wickets in three ODI matches for Nepal, with an outstanding economy of 3.56. Lamichhane was the leading wicket-taker in the 2018-19 ICC World T20 Asia Qualifier, with 24 wickets in 6 matches.
Lamichhane, who is the new sensation in the world cricket, was awarded the Player of the Tournament in the ICC World Cricket League Division Two for his 17 wickets in 6 innings. He has also played for the ICC Rest of the World XI team in the Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge against West Indies.
#1 Shaiman Anwar
Shaiman, born and brought up in Pakistan, plays for Emirates Cricket Team. He made his ODI debut in February 2014 against Scotland. The right-hander was a member of the UAE squad in the 2015 World Cup and scored a fifty and hundred in the first two matches.
He is the second UAE batsman to score a hundred in ODI and the first to score a century in T20I.
In 2018, he became the first UAE cricketer to score 1000 runs in ODIs. Shaiman has scored 1006 runs with an average of 32.45 in 32 ODI matches. He also has 747 runs in 26 T20I matches for UAE.
The right-handed batsman was named in the UAE squad for Asia Cup Qualifiers in August 2018 and months later, he was named in the UAE team for ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, 2018
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