ICC Awards 2024: Saim Ayub nominated for Men’s Emerging Cricketer Award

KARACHI: The ICC Awards 2024 have nominated rising Pakistani cricket star Saim Ayub for the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award, highlighting his meteoric rise in the international cricketing arena. 

 

 

 

 

 

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The ICC Awards for 2024 will honour outstanding performances across 12 categories, with the announcement of nominees continuing until December 30. Winners will be revealed in late January, celebrating cricketing excellence from the past year. 

Young Pakistani opener Saim Ayub”s standout performances during recent tours of Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa earned him the nomination.

Joining Ayub for the ICC Awards 2024 nominations are England’s Gus Atkinson, Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis, and West Indies’ Shamar Joseph, each recognized for their exceptional contributions.

He amassed an impressive 515 runs in just nine ODIs, including three centuries and one half-century, underscoring his potential as a future batting mainstay for Pakistan. 

Atkinson has taken 52 wickets in 11 matches, Mendis has scored 1,451 runs across 32 games, and Joseph has claimed 29 wickets in eight Test matches. 

Also Read: Five ways the sports world changed in 2024

Meanwhile, ICC also announced nominees for the Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year, with South Africa’s Annerie Dercksen, Scotland’s Saskia Horley, India’s Shreyanka Patil, and Ireland’s Freya Sargent earning spots on the shortlist. 

Saim Ayub, along with Naseem Shah saw the biggest boost in the latest set of ODI rankings released by ICC on Dec 25 as they rose 57 and 10 places respectively.

Saim Ayub jumped 57 places to take a spot next to Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis, as the two are tied for 23rd on the list. Ayub has only played nine ODI matches to this point, and has already shown how effective he can be with the bat.

Since his first ODI against Australia in early November, the 22-year-old has made three centuries, with his high score of 113 coming in the second ODI against Zimbabwe. Ayub made his other two centuries in the most recent series against South Africa.