Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has opened up about winning the ICC’s Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as he felt honoured to stand among the legends of the games.

Firstly, he became only the fourth cricketer ever to win the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year trophy two years in a row. And then it comes to the big prize which every cricketer dreams of, the ICC Cricketer of the Year.

“First, I want to thank Allah almighty, it was an honour that I won the ICC’s Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy,” Babar told Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “I cannot explain my happiness in words.”

In the video message, he went on to thank the family, for their prayers, teammates, for their help and services and the fans for their support and backing.

“When you win such an award, you feel proud as an individual,” he said. “Moreover, to be in the company of legends like, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli, they are very big names and Alhamdulillah [thanks to Allah], my name is there.”

“Most importantly, Pakistan’s name it there and it is indeed a proud moment.”

Babar also revealed a couple of innings, which he believes were his best of the year. “There are a couple of innings, which I think were the most impactful,” he said. “First 196 against Australia and a hundred against England in T20Is, these two are my favourites because they were played in a situation when my team needed them that most and both came in by home conditions.”

He also congratulated Ben Stokes, Sikandar Raza and Tim Southee for their impressive year. “They are one of the best players for their country and I want to wish them all the best for the future.”

Babar was the only player to breach the 2000-run mark during the calendar year across all formats, and he did it in style as he broke past that milestone in style while amassing a whopping 2598 runs at an imposing average of 54.12.

The prolific batter scored eight hundreds and 17 fifties during the calendar year – which was his best performance in the year to date.