Babar Azam picks his best ODI knock after winning ODI Cricketer of the year award

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was recently named the ICC Men’s ODI cricketer of the year for 2021 and he indeed, had a terrific year in the limited overs format especially. Babar scored 405 in 6 innings in 2021 in the 50 over format and he managed to make two centuries as well. In fact, he played some match winning knocks in the South Africa tour which earned his team a 2-1 series victory as well in the three match ODI series.

The 27-year-old still has a lot of time to go in his international career and he averages 57 in ODIs which shows his caliber as a top order batter. Babar has often been left out of the “fab four”, but he has proved time and again that he belongs to the best batters of the modern day generation. He did struggle in the England tour with two failures but made up for it with one of the best knocks in the third ODI despite losing the series 0-3.

158 I scored against England gave me a lot of confidence, says Babar Azam

Babar Azam mentioned that he is grateful to his fans and family for the support he has been getting and thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as well. He noted about having an excellent group of players in the team which has immensely benefited him. Babar led Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021 and became the first Pakistan skipper to beat India in a World cup fixture.

He also took the side to the semi finals with an unbeaten run but unfortunately lost to Australia. “First of all, I am thankful to the fans for supporting me and cheering me on. After that, I am thankful to PCB and ICC and especially my Pakistan team for supporting and backing me. It wasn’t possible without them, I feel proud to have such a good team. I am also thankful to my parents who prayed a lot for my success.” Babar told in a video posted by ICC

Babar Azam also picked his 158-run knock in a losing cause against England as his best in the year as well in his career so far. He explained the amount of impact it had on the confidence level and how important was to get his rhythm back.

“The best innings if you ask me is that 158 I scored against England which is also my highest score. I reckon it’s the best innings of my career. I was actually struggling at that time and needed a knock, I got it and it gave me a lot of confidence.” he added.