The ICC Cricketer of the year is the most prestigious individual award in cricket. It is awarded to the most consistent player in the previous calendar year across the formats. English all-rounder Ben Stokes was awarded the ICC cricketer of the year in 2019. We are now in the year 2020 but much cricket hasn’t been played this year due to the global pandemic coronavirus. Cricket boards are already planning for the year 2021. While there is a lot of cricket left to be played, let’s try to predict who will win ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2021?
At first, let’s try to take a look at the biggest contenders to win the award –
Virat Kohli – Indian Skipper is the won the award for 2 years straight in 2017 and 2018. Virat Kohli is one of the most consistent batsmen across the formats in the world. He is averaging over 50 in all 3 formats of the game. Virat Kohli is expected to continue his form with his willow in the upcoming year as well and he can win the award for 3rd time in his career.
Ben Stokes – The fiery English all-rounder won the award in 2019 on the back of a strong 2019 where he helped his nation in winning their first-ever ODI World Cup. Stokes also performed brilliantly in the Ashes 2019 and England won the urn. Ben Stokes is the best all-rounder in world cricket and he is an equally brilliant performer across the formats. If he can keep up his performances then there is no doubt that Ben Stokes could win the ICC Cricketer of the year once again.
Steven Smith – The winner of the award in 2017, Smith is the best test batsman at the moment. The former Australian captain is also pretty consistent with his willow in the white-ball cricket as well. If Steven Smith can maintain the level of his performances then he could win the award for the 2nd time in his career.
Kane Williamson – The Kiwi skipper is one of the classiest batsmen around. He has the technique and temperament to score runs in all formats of the cricket as has been the backbone of the New Zealand batting for several years now. If Kane hit the top gear with the bat next year then he can become the ICC cricketer of the year in 2021.
Babar Azam – The Pakistan batsman is a treat to watch and certainly equally effective in all formats of cricket. Azam is averaging over 50 in both formats of white-ball cricket. He also piles up runs in the red-ball cricket as well. If Azam could hit the top gear and alongside some team success with Pakistan, he could win the prestigious award for the first time in his career.
Alongside above-mentioned names, there are players like Ravi Ashwin, Pat Cummins, David Warner, Quinton de Kock, and Jasprit Bumrah who could emerge the dark horses in this race. However, as per our Today Match Prediction, Virat Kohli is going to win the ICC Cricketer of the year in 2021.