T20 World Cup 2021: Shoaib Akhtar slams ICC for not picking Babar Azam as Man of the tournament

Shoaib Akhtar slams ICC for not picking Babar Azam as Man of the tournament.

T20 World Cup 2021: Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not awarding the prestigious “Player of the Tournament,” award to his countrymen Babar Azam in the recently held ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

The speedster reckons that the Pakistani skipper Babar Azam was the real winner of the prestigious award for his brilliant batting performances in the tournament. He even commented “unfair decision” as David Warner was adjudged as the winner of the honour.

Babar Azam was sensational for his batting and even more so with his apt captaincy during the entire tournament. He remained the leading run-getter in the entire tournament with a little above 300 runs in 6 innings at an average of 60.60. He slammed four half-centuries in the tournament at an impressive strike rate of 126.25.

The second on the list of leading run-getter was Australian David Warner. With 289 runs from seven T20 World Cup 2021 innings at an average of 48.17, Warner is ranked second on the list. He scored all his runs in the tournament with a much better strike rate of 146.70.

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“Was really looking forward to see @babarazam258 becoming Man of the Tournament. Unfair decision for sure,” wrote Shoaib Akhtar in his tweet showing displeasure on ICC’s decision to snatch the award from Babar Azam.

Giving a validation on ICC’s decision, several said that Babar Azam often scored runs when the ball was hard to grip by the opposition, essentially due to the dew. In six matches he played, he won the toss four times and straight away went to field first. Moreover, he was not forced by any team into uncomfortable situations.

While on the other side, Warner had to play tough innings throughout the tournament. His third half-century came during the crunch final against New Zealand as is valued more.

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