5 Players Who Can Win ICC Test Cricketer Of The Year Award

The year 2021 saw the uprise of a lot of cricketers in the international circuit in the Test format. 2021 was a historic year for Test cricket as well because it produced the first-ever ICC World Test Champions, New Zealand. However, teams from across the globe fared well in Test cricket in 2021 and small test-playing nations like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and West Indies too gave many players for the world to cherish.

While 2021 saw the arrival of some fresh cricketing talent on the centre stage, we also witnessed some legends of the game outperforming their young comrades and achieving unimaginable heights in Test cricket in 2021. On that note, let’s take a look at the 5 players who can win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

5 Players Who Can Win ICC Test Cricketer Of The Year Award

5. Joe Root

Joe Root had a phenomenal 2021 in Test cricket as he went on to assert himself as the best Test batsman in modern-day cricket in 2021. Root has scored a total of 1544 runs in Test cricket in 2021 so far at an average of 64.33. The English captain went on to score giant centuries in the subcontinent against Sri Lanka and India.

His captaincy has been under fire but Joe Root has been the lone warrior for England in 2021 in Tests as Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes have missed the majority of the year for England. Certainly, his name will be up for grabs when ICC decides to award the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

4. Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lanka has been one of the greatest nations which have seen a downfall in their Tets cricket over the period of the last 5 years. However, in 2021, there was one player who walked the talk for the Lankan lions and it was none other than Dimuth Karunaratne. Karunaratne is the third-highest run-scorer in Test cricket in 2021 as he has gone on to score 902 runs in just 7 matches at a staggering average of 69.38.

3. Rohit Sharma

2021 was the year wherein Rohit Sharma established that he is ready to be India’s regular choice opener in red-ball cricket. The year started with a couple of decent knocks against Australia way from home, When England toured India, Rohit Sharma was the highest run-scorer in the Test series. In the ICC World Test Championship final, Rohit got off to decent starts in both innings where the other Indian batsmen failed.

However, it was the England tour that redefined Rohit Sharma’s stature in Test cricket. A century and a couple of half-centuries in the four Tests went on to establish Rohit as the best batsman for India in the series as he ends 2021 being the second-highest run-scorer in Tests, only behind Joe Root. He will certainly be a consideration for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

2. Shaheen Shah Afridi

One of Pakistan’s greatest finds in contemporary cricket, Shaheen Shah Afridi has made the world look at his performance and go awestruck in 2021. Across formats, Shaheen has been Pakistan’s best bowler and he has taken up the task whenever Pakistan has been in dire need of wickets. His record in Tests in 2021 speaks volumes about the potential that he possesses.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has gone on to pick 47 wickets in 17 innings of the 9 Test matches that he has played for Pakistan this year. The wickets have come at a phenomenal bowling average of 17.06 as he will in all likelihood end 2021 as the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He will be one of the strongest contenders to win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

1. Ravichandran Ashwin

2021 was a glorious year for Ravichandran Ashwin. In 2021, Ashwin broke a lot of records in Indian and world cricket. The off-spinner reached the milestone of 400 Test wickets in the international circuit and he achieved this feat in the fewest number of games. Apart from that, he also went on to become India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Test history, overtaking his predecessor, Harbhajan Singh.

His contribution with the bat was second to none as Ashwin reinstated how much pride he takes in his batting. The innings against Australia in Sydney and the century against England in Chennai will certainly go down as one of the greatest Test knocks by an Indian spinner in Tets cricket history. Ashwin has so far picked 52 wickets in 8 Test matches this year as he leads the tally. He surely deserves to be the ICC Test Cricketers of the Year 2021.