The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday (26 Jan) named the winners of the ICC Men’s and Women’s Cricketer of the Year. While the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year was won by an Asian, an English player won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. The names were revealed as a part of annual awards organized by the global cricket governing body. 

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was conferred with the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the best Men’s cricketer across formats in 2022. The top-ranked ODI batter scored 2598 runs in 44 matches at an average of 54.12 with eight centuries and 15 half-centuries in 2022. His haul of eight hundreds and 17 fifties during the calendar year was Babar's best of his career to date and there's no doubt the dynamic right-hander is currently at the top of his game.

The 2021 ICC Men's ODI Player of the Year continued to rule in the 50-over format, scoring 679 runs in nine matches. Babar also enjoyed a tremendous year in Test cricket, despite team results not always going his way. He accumulated 1184 runs from just nine matches and did the bulk of the heavy lifting for Pakistan in the longer format. 

In the T20I format, he led Pakistan to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final - their first since 2009 - as Babar's side finished runners-up behind eventual champions England.

Nat Sciver wins Women’s Cricketer of the Year Award

England’s Nat Sciver won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. The English all-rounder scored 1346 runs and scalped 22 wickets from 33 international matches. The sublime all-rounder produced brilliant performances across all formats and frequently delivered against the highest calibre of opposition.

Sciver finished as the third-highest scorer in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 and played a big role in England’s qualification for the final. In Test cricket she was the standout performer against South Africa in both of her team's Tests in the year, stroking a beautiful 169* that put England in complete control of the second Test.