5 Players who could win the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award 2021
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.
A World Cup winner and scorer of one of the greatest Test innings of all time, Ben Stokes is the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the world player of the year.
#ICCAwards https://t.co/5stP1fqSAP
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.
Adam Zampa’s star shone brightest for Australia ⭐
The Australia spin whizz claimed the best bowling figures at the #T20WorldCup 💪 https://t.co/e9wrIsMkCi
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.