Decoding Pakistan players with 10-plus POTM awards in T20Is
Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan scored a match-winning 75* from 46 balls in the second T20I versus Ireland in Dublin. He helped his side attain the 194-run target with seven wickets in hand. Rizwan received the Player-of-the-Match award for his prolific knock. He now boasts 12 such honors in T20Is, the most for a Pakistan player. Let's decode Pakistan players with 10-plus POTM awards (T20Is).
Mohammad Hafeez - 11 awards
Nicknamed 'Professor,' Mohammad Hafeez is among the finest all-rounders to have played limited-overs cricket for Pakistan. The former cricketer could bat at several positions besides delivering economical spells. Hafeez represented Pakistan in 119 T20Is, scoring 2,514 runs at 26.46 and taking 61 wickets at a stellar economy of 6.60. He received the POTM award as many as 11 times.
Shahid Afridi - 11 awards
In Shahid Afridi, we have another all-rounder on this list. The dasher endorsed fearless cricket and played many match-winning knocks lower down the order. His leg-spin also gave many batters a tough time. He hence clinched the POTM award 11 times in his 99-match T20I career. While he scored 1,416 runs at a strike rate of 150, the tally includes 98 wickets (ER: 6.63).
Shadab Khan - 11 awards
Shadab Khan plays the same role that Afridi used to. He is a modern-day leg-spinner with a bucket of variations in his armory. Shadab has also made his bat talk. Having played 98 T20Is, he has received the Player-of-the-Match award 11 times. Shadab has 107 scalps at an economy of 7.14. He has also scored 632 T20I runs, striking at 141.38.
Mohammad Rizwan - 12 awards
Rizwan leads this tally with 12 such honors in his 95-match T20I career. He is among the most consistent batters in the format's history. His stats state the same. Rizwan has raced to 3,124 runs from 82 T20I innings at 50.38. He slammed his 27th fifty (100s: 1). He has surpassed Aaron Finch's tally of 3,120 runs to become the sixth-highest scorer in T20Is.