Omarzai named ICC Men’s ODI cricketer of the year

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has been named ICC Men’s One-Day International (ODI) cricketer of the year following an exceptional performance through 2024,  the cricket board said on Monday.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) wrote on its Facebook page: “Congratulations to our star all-rounder, Azmatullah Omarzai, for being voted the ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year 2024.”

He also enjoyed a strong year in T20Is and franchise cricket, but it was in ODIs where he proved most influential.

He finished 2024 as his national team’s second-highest run scorer (behind Rahmanullah Gurbaz) and second-highest wicket taker (behind AM Ghazanfar), with Afghanistan winning four of their five ODI series last year.

Omarzai’s individual excellence wasn’t enough to earn Afghanistan a series win away in Sri Lanka at the start of the year, but he was central to four straight ODI series wins for Afghanistan, as his team won against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had announced its Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2024, featuring Afghanistan T20 skipper and veteran leggie Rashid Khan.

On Friday, ICC announced the One-Day International team of 2024 year, which featured three Afghan players Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Azmatullah Omarzai.

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