Shakib emerges surprise winner of Wisden's World Test Player of the Year Award
Friday, 9 October 2009
The world number one all rounder Shakib Al Hasan once hogged the headlines as he left behind the more celebrated cricketers to be adjudged as the winner of The Wisden Cricketer magazine's World Test Player of the Year 2009 accolade, topping a list of the game's most celebrated players, reports BSS.
Likes of star cricketers -Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Grame Smith, Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis were in the race but the 22 year old young Bangladeshi Shakib brushed aside their challenge with his remarkable run of fortune in test cricket for the year 2008-2009 to pip them all to win the coveted Wisden award.
Normally Wisden award is rated highly among the cricketers and cricket playing countries as The Wisden Cricketers comments and awards are considered as Bible of cricket.
When Shakib was asked today by BSS after the announcement of the Wisden feat, he said, " I am overwhelmed hearing the news of Wisden award. It is indeed a dream for every cricketer to wait for an Award of this stature. Thanks to Almighty Allah, all my colleagues and my fans whose inspiration helped me to achieve this goal.
" Sometimes I used to get tired of working so hard and even sometimes thought, what was the use of working so hard, but when you get an award like this, you feel inspired again and look forward for more accolade. I am really happy that I again managed to make my country proud," said Shakib.
Southpaw all rounder Shakib Al Hasan, only a week back was selected in the first eleven of the world test team for 2009 in the ICC Award ceremony held last week in South Africa.
Shakib topped the performance table of all Test match players based on marks awarded by Wisden Cricketer correspondents who reported on every Test played during the period. Shakib averaged 7.94 out of 10 for each of the eight Tests he played between the beginning of September 2008 and the end of August 2009.
Shakib took 45 wickets at 23 with his left-arm spin, including five for five, plus 498 runs at 35.57, performances that placed him ahead of stellar names such as Gautham Gambhir, Graeme Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Jaques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Dale Steyn and Andrew Strauss.
Reflecting on his achievement to Wisden, Shakib says: "I guess I owe my performance to keeping things simple. I don't lose sleep over disappointments and rather look ahead to seize the next opportunity. "I have been a performer and I work hard at my game to become the best cricketer I can be. Getting recognised by The Wisden Cricketer is the pinnacle of individual recognition as far as I am concerned," he says.
John Stern, editor of the world's best-selling cricket monthly says: "Shakib Al Hasan is an outstanding young talent and a very deserving recipient of The Wisden Cricketer's Test Player of the Year Award. He has performed consistently against some top teams with flair, aggression and true talent. That he has performed so well in an international side that is still finding its feet is all the more remarkable, and his talent and ability could be crucial in developing the game in Bangladesh."
Wisden Cricketer World Test Player of the Year:
Tests Avge rating
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) 8 7.94
Gautam Gambhir (India) 8 7.63
Graeme Smith (South Africa) 7 7.21
Sachin Tendulkar (India) 9 7.00
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 8 7.00
Ben Hilfenhaus (Australia) 8 6.94
Andrew Flintoff (England) 8 6.88
Dale Steyn (South Africa) 8 6.88
Fidel Edwards (West Indies) 8* 6.81
Andrew Strauss (England) 13* 6.77
Likes of star cricketers -Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Grame Smith, Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis were in the race but the 22 year old young Bangladeshi Shakib brushed aside their challenge with his remarkable run of fortune in test cricket for the year 2008-2009 to pip them all to win the coveted Wisden award.
Normally Wisden award is rated highly among the cricketers and cricket playing countries as The Wisden Cricketers comments and awards are considered as Bible of cricket.
When Shakib was asked today by BSS after the announcement of the Wisden feat, he said, " I am overwhelmed hearing the news of Wisden award. It is indeed a dream for every cricketer to wait for an Award of this stature. Thanks to Almighty Allah, all my colleagues and my fans whose inspiration helped me to achieve this goal.
" Sometimes I used to get tired of working so hard and even sometimes thought, what was the use of working so hard, but when you get an award like this, you feel inspired again and look forward for more accolade. I am really happy that I again managed to make my country proud," said Shakib.
Southpaw all rounder Shakib Al Hasan, only a week back was selected in the first eleven of the world test team for 2009 in the ICC Award ceremony held last week in South Africa.
Shakib topped the performance table of all Test match players based on marks awarded by Wisden Cricketer correspondents who reported on every Test played during the period. Shakib averaged 7.94 out of 10 for each of the eight Tests he played between the beginning of September 2008 and the end of August 2009.
Shakib took 45 wickets at 23 with his left-arm spin, including five for five, plus 498 runs at 35.57, performances that placed him ahead of stellar names such as Gautham Gambhir, Graeme Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Jaques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Dale Steyn and Andrew Strauss.
Reflecting on his achievement to Wisden, Shakib says: "I guess I owe my performance to keeping things simple. I don't lose sleep over disappointments and rather look ahead to seize the next opportunity. "I have been a performer and I work hard at my game to become the best cricketer I can be. Getting recognised by The Wisden Cricketer is the pinnacle of individual recognition as far as I am concerned," he says.
John Stern, editor of the world's best-selling cricket monthly says: "Shakib Al Hasan is an outstanding young talent and a very deserving recipient of The Wisden Cricketer's Test Player of the Year Award. He has performed consistently against some top teams with flair, aggression and true talent. That he has performed so well in an international side that is still finding its feet is all the more remarkable, and his talent and ability could be crucial in developing the game in Bangladesh."
Wisden Cricketer World Test Player of the Year:
Tests Avge rating
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) 8 7.94
Gautam Gambhir (India) 8 7.63
Graeme Smith (South Africa) 7 7.21
Sachin Tendulkar (India) 9 7.00
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 8 7.00
Ben Hilfenhaus (Australia) 8 6.94
Andrew Flintoff (England) 8 6.88
Dale Steyn (South Africa) 8 6.88
Fidel Edwards (West Indies) 8* 6.81
Andrew Strauss (England) 13* 6.77