Shaheen Afridi Nominated In Five PCB Awards

Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Afridi has been nominated in a total of five categories for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Awards 2021.

The 21-year-old left-arm pacer has been nominated in Impactful Performance of the Year, T20I Cricketer of the Year, ODI Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year, and Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year categories by an independent 10-member jury.

Shaheen Afridi snapped 78 wickets across all formats for Pakistan in 2021

According to the release issued by PCB, the winners will be announced in a virtual digital show, which will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube and Facebook Channels on Thursday (January 6) at 7 pm PKT.

Shaheen had a stellar 2021 across all formats. In nine Tests, he took 47 wickets and backed up with eight wickets in six ODIs and 23 wickets from 21 T20Is. His three for 31 against India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has made him one of the four candidates for the Impactful Performance of the Year award.

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and fast bowler Hasan Ali also had a year to celebrate, which is now reflected in their nominations.

Rizwan earned nominations for the Impactful Performance of the Year, T20I Cricketer of the Year and Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year.

On the other hand, Hasan Ali has been shortlisted for the Impactful Performance of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year awards.

Babar Azam nominated for two categories

Pakistan skippers Babar Azam, Fawad Alam and Haris Rauf have been shortlisted in two categories each.

Babar, who won the Most Valuable Cricketer of 2020, has once again been nominated in this category, while his other nomination is in the ODI Cricketer of the Year.

Meanwhile, Fawad Alam also makes a second successive entry in the Impactful Performance of the Year and his second nomination is for the Test Cricketer of the Year. Speedster Haris Rauf has been shortlisted in the T20I and ODI Cricketer of the Year categories.

For the Emerging Cricketer of the Year, Arshad Iqbal, Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shahnawaz Dahani have been shortlisted.

“Players born on or after 1 August 1998 or have made international debuts in this calendar year or have played in a minimum of 15 matches in the Cricket Association events and HBL PSL in this calendar year are eligible,” PCB said in its statement.

“Player(s) once nominated in this category, cannot be re-nominated. This means Haider Ali and Mohammad Huraira, despite impressive performances, were not considered as they had been shortlisted last year,” it further added.

Nevertheless, Huraira has been grouped with Asif Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan and Tayyab Tahir for the Domestic Cricketer of the Year award, while Aliya Riaz, who won the award last year, has been shortlisted along with Anam Amin, Fatima and Nida Dar are in contention to win the Women’s Cricketer of the Year award.

Also Read: Shahid Afridi Recalls How He Calmed Down Shaheen Afridi Ahead Of T20 World Cup Clash Against India