Pakistan's Babar Azam makes yet another achievement in his career
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ISLAMABAD - Babar Azam has been included in Wisden’s ODI team of the year for 2019 following a brilliant year with the bat. Indian captain, Virat Kohli, has been selected as the captain of the team.
In the last 12 months, the run-machine amassed 1,092 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 60.66. He scored runs at will, boasting a strike rate of 92.30. For now, there is no sexier batsman on the planet.
In a blog post on Sunday, the cricketing website revealed the team of the year, saying:
The Wisden Cricket Monthly ODI team of the year is a different beast, rewarding not spectacular moments of individual brilliance, but continued excellence over a 12 month period.
Here’s how the team selected by a panel of writers based on consistent performances in the format between December 3, 2018, and December 3, 2019: *Player* *Batting* *Bowling* Runs Average 100s Wickets Economy Strike Rate Rohit Sharma 1,232 53.56 6 Jason Roy 845 70.41 3 Virat Kohli (C) 1,288 64.40 5 Babar Azam 1,092 60.66 3 Shakib Al Hasan 841 84.10 2 16 4.75 49.5 Ben Stokes 719 59.91 0 12 5.69 46.9 Shai Hope (WK) 1,420 67.61 5 Mitchell Starc 27 5.42 20.5 Yuzvender Chahal 29 5.73 29.3 Jasprit Bumrah 25 4.62 31.8 Trent Boult 38 4.70 30.5
Talking about Babar’s technique, the website wrote:
His technique is so pure that he doesn’t really do failure: the good balls get smothered, the bad ones are cuffed away with clinical poise. If there is a criticism, it’s that he’s so good, he should dominate even more.
Further, his cover drive has been dubbed as the ‘signature shot of the era’. Wisden, however, fears that the pressure of carrying the batting line-up may hamper his flamboyance, however, “for now, there is no sexier batsman on the planet”.
