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2021 has been an exciting year for cricket in otherwise uncertain times. Several players have shown their worth and consistency throughout the year and a few of them will be honored with end of the year awards. The ICC Cricketer of the Year Award is the biggest such honor.
The award was last won by Ben Stokes in 2019, given that 2020 was reserved for the Decade awards.
The ICC Cricketer of the Year Award, also known as the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, was first awarded in 2004 with Rahul Dravid claiming the coveted prize. 14 different players have won the award thus far, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli.
Ravichandran Ashwin in 2016 was the only specialist bowler to win the award, which has otherwise been dominated by batsmen and all-rounders. Whether that pattern changes this year remains to be seen.
With less than 40 days of action left in the year, it is quite obvious that the race for top individual prizes is going to heat up. Players will look to make the most of the remaining few games to strengthen their respective cases. On that note, here's a look at 5 players who could potentially win the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award in 2021.
#5 Anrich Nortje
Anrich Nortje made his international debut in just 2019. The fact that he has already established himself as one of the best pacers in the world shows how meteoric his rise has been. He has played an important role for South Africa in what has been a reasonably successful year for a team in a transitional phase.
In 5 test matches, he picked up 25 wickets at a terrific strike rate of 37.6 including a best of 6/56 against Sri Lanka. His form was even better in the shortest format of the game, where he picked up 15 wickets in 11 games while conceding at a rate of just 6.07. He even made the ICC team of the tournament in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
The 28-year-old also played five 50-over games where he struck on eight occasions. He has been a significant threat to batsmen with his pace and hard lengths, and currently finds himself 8th in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers.
No South African has had their hands on the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award since Jacques Kallis in 2005, and it will be interesting to see if Nortje can change that.
#4 Adam Zampa
In his own words, Adam Zampa has "always been underestimated". He can now rest assured that will no longer be the case after a terrific 2021 where he was Australia's best bowler in the shorter versions of the game. The leg-spinner was instrumental in their T20 World Cup victory this year and many felt that he deserved the Player of the Tournament Award as well.
He picked up 26 wickets in 21 T20Is at a strike rate of 17.6 with an economy of just 7.15. Half of those wickets came in the World Cup, where he managed to strike in all 7 games. His best performance came against Bangladesh when he picked up a 5-wicket haul.
The 29-year-old also made the team of the tournament and was the joint-highest wicket taker once the Super 12 stage began. He also played three ODIs and picked up five wickets. The Australian won't take part in any international cricket until the end of the year and can only hope that his competitors lose a bit of form in the race for the award.
#3 Trent Boult
Trent Boult has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the world for a while. He did no harm to his reputation this year as he repeatedly turned up for the Kiwis yet again. He was instrumental for New Zealand in the World Test Championship as he helped his country win their first ICC trophy in 21 years.
He picked up five wickets in the final, including the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant. He also played two other Test matches, picking up 11 wickets. In three ODIs, he picked up 5 wickets while conceding less than 4 per over.
The 32-year-old hasn't always been considered a top T20 bowler, but he's managed to change that over the last couple of years. Boult showed further signs of improvement this year with 23 wickets to his name in 15 games. He was also in the Team of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup, where he ended the campaign as the top wicket taker amongst fast bowlers.
#2 Joe Root
The English Test skipper has had an absolutely phenomenal year, quite literally scoring runs for fun. Previously, Root had a couple of rather mediocre years by his lofty standards and has been criticized for his conversion rate. With 6 centuries this year, he has managed to prove his doubters wrong.
Joe Root has scored a remarkable 1455 runs in 12 tests this year, including two double hundreds and two more scores in the 180s. There's a great chance that the 30-year-old could break Mohammad Yousuf's record of most Test runs(1788) in a calendar year with England's three upcoming tests against Australia.
The elegant batsman also recorded 79* and 68* in the two ODIs he got a chance to bat in. While he has been superb, the fact that he has predominantly played in a single format could hurt his chances of winning the all-format award.
Moreover, 2021 being a T20 World Cup year means that there could be added importance to the shortest format of the game where he didn't make a single appearance. Thus, he finds himself one place behind first on the list.
#1 Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan has been on the international scene for a while now. However, it was only this year that he realized his full potential and established himself as one of the best in the business. The 29-year old has scored more than half of his international runs this year alone, and has even managed to outperform his skipper Babar Azam.
He has scored 1123 runs in 23 T20I innings at an astounding average of 74.86 and a strike rate of over 131. He has 10 fifties and a hundred to his name as well. Rizwan also has 397 runs in Tests and 134 in ODIs, and has been the leading run scorer in international cricket this year.
The Pakistani wicket-keeper is also joint-first for dismissals along with Jos Buttler, and has taken 48 catches to go with 2 stumpings. Rizwan could yet potentially play in eight more games, which gives him a huge advantage over his competitors. With such impressive year-round figures, Rizwan will be a strong contender for the prestigious award.
Honorable mentions: Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Rohit Sharma, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood
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