Babar Azam wins Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2022

Babar Azam has bagged the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2022 after string of impressive performances across formats. The Pakistani skipper scored 2598 runs from 44 international matches at an average of 54.12 with the help of eight centuries and 17 half-centuries last year.

The 29-year-old continues his dominance in world cricket with another successful year. Despite his team's struggles, Babar managed to make a big impact with his bat. He was the only cricketer to score 2000-plus runs across formats last year, which had 1184 runs from nine Tests. He was the leading run-scorer in Tests in 2022, scoring at an average of 69.64 with four hundreds and seven fifties.

He was also the leading run-scorer for Pakistan in ODIs with 679 runs from just nine innings at an average of 84.87 with three hundreds and seven fifties to his name. His phenomenal performances also helped him win the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022. Babar also produced an excellent year in T20Is with 735 runs from 26 innings at an average of 31.95 and a strike rate of 123.32 with one century and five half-centuries in 2022.

Richard Illingworth wins ICC Umpire of the Year 2022:

Richard Illingworth bagged the ICC Umpire of the Year 2022 award for impressive decision-making skills. Illingworth had previously won the award in 2019 as well as he was one of the 16 umpires during the 2019 World Cup in England where he stood in the crucial semi-final clash between India and New Zealand.

2019 ✅
2022 ✅

Congratulations to Richard Illingworth, who is now a two-time ICC Umpire of the Year 🎉#ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/FUruhWZGUf

— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2023

Illingworth first umpired for the England Cricket Board (ECB) in first-class matches during the 2006 season and then was promoted to the international list in 2009. He also umpired the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in June 2021.