Mohammad Rizwan dedicates his ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of 2021 title to fans, teammates

Rizwan on Sunday was named the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year. He dedicates his award to his teammates and fans.

"I had an exceptional year in the shortest format of the game, and I am thankful to all my colleagues and peers for voting me as the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year. This award gives me further motivation and incentive to do even better in 2022 and beyond for Pakistan so that we can collectively achieve our objective of being the top T20I playing side and in the process enhancing our fan-base," said Rizwan as per an official ICC release.

"I want to thank all my team-mates and coaching staff who helped me throughout the year by preparing and training me well enough to contribute to Pakistan's successes. As cricket is a team sport, I would like to dedicate this award to my teammates and fans," he added.

The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter ruled the roost in 2021 when it came to the shortest format of the game. Aggregating a staggering 1,326 runs in only 29 matches, Rizwan struck at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89.

In the women's category, England's all-rounder Tammy Beaumont was voted as the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year for her stellar performance in 2021. Beaumont was England's highest run-scorer and third-highest overall in the world in 2021.

"It's a huge privilege to win the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year Award. I've worked incredibly hard on my T20 game in the last few years. My T20I career has had its ups and downs and I don't think I've always been known for my T20 abilities, so this award gives me a huge amount of confidence," said Tammy Beaumont.

"As a team, we had a great year in terms of T20I results and it feels great to have contributed to team wins. We've got a big year ahead in all formats - with the Ashes, the ICC Women's World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, and I look forward to continuing to work hard alongside my teammates to help us win as many games as possible," she added.

Earlier in the year, in a low-scoring series against New Zealand away from home, Beaumont was the top scorer and was awarded the Player of the Series for a total of 102 runs in three matches. Her 63 in 53 balls in the second match put England in a winning position after they had lost two wickets in the powerplay.

Beaumont continued her form against New Zealand when they visited England for a limited-overs tour. She once again finished as the highest run-scorer in the series with 113, which included a stunning 97 in the opening game of the series. (ANI)