Pakistan cricket team had a formidable 2021 across all formats of the game. The national team registered 20 T20I victories, the most by any team in a calendar year, and also had the highest Test win percentage in the calendar year.
The Men in Green only played 6 ODIs in 2021 and were impressive as they beat South Africa 2-1 in a three-match series in South Africa.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi were sensational in all formats of the game and earned plaudits for their exceptional performances and their consistency throughout the year. These three players were instrumental for Pakistan as they blew away the opponents in all formats of the game.
Veteran middle-order batter, Fawad Alam, and right-arm pacer, Hasan Ali, formed the backbone of the Test side and had a formidable year as well while explosive opening batter, Fakhar Zaman, was exceptional in the 50-over format. The six players were outstanding throughout the year and made it to ESPNCricinfo’s teams of the year. Cricinfo, a renowned cricket website, announced their teams of the year for each format in 2021 which featured the top performers from all over the world in the respective formats.
Let’s have a look at the three teams of the year announced by Cricinfo:
Test Team of the Year
| Player | Country | Stats |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 906 runs – 47.68 average |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | Sri Lanka | 902 runs – 69.38 average |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Australia | 525 runs – 75.00 average |
| Joe Root (c) | England | 1,630 runs – 62.69 average |
| Fawad Alam | Pakistan | 571 runs – 57.10 average |
| Rishabh Pant (wk) | India | 706 runs – 32 dismissals |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 52 wickets – 16.23 average |
| Kyle Jamieson | New Zealand | 27 wickets – 17.51 average |
| Hasan Ali | Pakistan | 41 wickets – 16.07 average |
| Ollie Robinson | England | 35 wickets – 20.54 average |
| Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan | 47 wickets – 17.06 average |
ODI Team of the Year
| Player | Country | Stats |
| Paul Stirling | Ireland | 705 runs – 54.23 average |
| Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan | 365 runs – 60.83 average |
| Babar Azam (c) | Pakistan | 405 runs – 67.50 average |
| Rassie van der Dussen | South Africa | 342 runs – 57.00 average |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 277 runs – 17 wickets |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) | Bangladesh | 407 runs – 10 dismissals |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 356 runs – 12 wickets |
| Simi Singh | Ireland | 19 wickets – 20.15 average |
| Josh Little | Ireland | 17 wickets – 20.11 average |
| Dushmantha Chameera | Sri Lanka | 20 wickets – 29.30 average |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 18 wickets – 21.55 average |
T20I Team of the Year
| Player | Country | Stats |
| Babar Azam (c) | Pakistan | 1,779 runs – 131.38 S/R |
| Mohammad Rizwan (wk) | Pakistan | 2,036 runs – 47 dismissals |
| Moeen Ali | England | 825 runs – 25 wickets |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 1,045 runs – 15 wickets |
| Liam Livingstone | England | 1,301 runs – 155.06 S/R |
| Glenn Phillips | New Zealand | 1,428 runs – 145.86 S/R |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka | 286 runs – 47 wickets |
| Harshal Patel | India | 44 wickets – 15.22 average |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 74 wickets – 17.48 average |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 59 wickets – 20.83 average |
| Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan | 51 wickets – 21.50 average |
