LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam, seasoned batsman Mohammad Hafeez, and emerging fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi have all been shortlisted in three categories, for the PCB Awards 2020, the final results of which will be announced on the PCB digital Platforms on Friday.

Among others Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf were nominated in two categories.

Babar and Shaheen are nominated in the White-ball Cricketers of the Year, Test cricketer of the Year and Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year categories, while Hafeez is in Individual Performance of the Year, White-ball Cricketers of the Year, and Most Valuable Cricketers of the Year categories.

“The short-lists for 12 categories, including 10 individual categories, have been finalised by an independent panel comprising highly respected and distinguished cricket personalities. In short-listing the nominees, the independent jury did not limit itself to just player performances, but also took into account various other factors, such as the opponent, impact, value, and contribution of the players in the matches and/or during the period under consideration,’ a PCB press release stated on Thursday.

Haris Rauf has made his way to the Men’s Emerging International Cricketer and White-ball Cricketer of the Year categories and Rizwan has been included in the Test and Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year categories. Naseem is a contender for the Men’s Emerging International and Individual Performance of the Year categories, while Shan competes for the Individual Performance and Test Cricketer of the Year categories.

The four nominees for the Domestic Cricketer of the Year are Hasan Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel and Zahid Mahmood, while Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan, Rohail Nazir, and Qasim Akram have been short-listed for the Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year category. Players born on or after A1 August 1999 and yet to make international debut for Pakistan in the 15-month period from 1 Sept 2019 to 31 Dec 2020 were considered for this category.

There are two women’s individual award categories despite limited cricket. For the Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Najiha Alvi and Syeda Aroob Shah have been short-listed, while Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Muneeba Ali are nominated for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year award.

Spirit of Cricket Award and Corporate Achievement of the Year nomination were also decided by the independent jury, whereas the four umpires shortlisted on the recommendation of the match referees and six First XI Cricket Association captains are Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, Ghaffar Kazmi, and Shozab Raza.

However, no category for the match referees is was included.

Categories:

Umpire of the Year: Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, Ghaffar Kazmi, Shozab Raza.

Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Najiha Alvi, Syeda Aroob Shah.

Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year (Yet to make international debut for Pakistan): Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan, Rohail Nazir, Qasim Akram.

Men’s Emerging International Cricketer of the Year: Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Khushdil Shah.

Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali.

Domestic Cricketer of the Year: Hasan Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood.

Individual Performance of the Year: Fawad Alam (102 vs New Zealand, 1st Test); Mohammad Hafeez (86 not out vs England 3rd T20I; Naseem Shah (4-26 — including a hat trick vs Bangladesh, first Test; Shan Masood (156 vs England, 1st Test).

Spirit of Cricket: Sindh players thanking retiring Imran Farhat for his contributions; Pakistan team visiting Bangladesh dressing room after their 2-0 win in the T20I series; Pakistan players congratulating Zak Crawley after his 267 in the Southampton Test; Pakistan players congratulating retiring Zimbabwe all-rounder Elton Chigumbura on a successful career.

White-ball Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Test Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.

Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2021