Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has moved to the number slot in the International Cricket Council’s rankings for One-Day International (ODI) bowlers.
The 34-year-old, who had surpassed the 100-wicket mark in the opening ODI against Australia in Sharjah, scored 759 points in the ICC ratings.
He was earlier quoted saying, “All I want is to become the number one bowler in all formats. My aim is to give 100% in my performance and help the team win. I don’t want anything else.”
While he was included in the ICC Test Team of the Year, his name was a notable exclusion from the ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC Test Cricketer of the Year and ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, despite an impressive performance during the 12-month qualifying period.
The prolific spinner has 120 international wickets to his name between the period August 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012, which is the most by any bowler.
Ajmal also has 72 Test wickets, again the most by any bowler.
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@vickram: Sour grapes....at least dont comment to avoid embrasment your comment bring to majority of indians
@Vikas: SO WE HATE AJMAL kASSAB.....and accordingly we hate all the persons with similar name...and then we hate all the persons with the religion Ajmals belong to....Mr.Vikas this shows your mentality...but rest assured majority of we Indians would think about you as an outcast, a traitor who brings shame on our beloved country.
MashAllah Saeed Ajmal is one of the hard working sportsman and one who is sincere with his/her work,do get rewards. So we should all pray for our GREEN team.
@bharat: Very well said.
Saw the picture in the article, and I was reminded of my childhood when I used to throw stones at the mango tree in the neighbor's bungalow like that....
Ha ha...but still Ajmal can't get nomination for ICC awards. Might be because his name is similar to Ajmal Kasai, whom Indians hate. ICC needs to keep the sentiment of Indians and BCCI in mind.
@Syed Shahbaz:
True, it is the politics which many players have played to keep the talented players out of Pakistan side for a long time
Pakistan jersey has eluded many talented players .
Some people have a strong clout with the selectors and strive to keep many talented youngsters out.
I believe even Shoaib faced a lot of politics for a long time
Another famous example is Mohammad Yousuf.
What has Misbah , Shoaib Malik ,Afridi and Akmal done to deserve a place in the Pakistan side ?
Saeed Ajmal is an awesome find for Pakistan.
Its true he deserves to have the highest award.
Its really sad that he does not get his due.
I dont know the real reason for him not being considered for the awards but at least he should have been nominated.
He is one of the most unique spinners in a very long time.
Ajmal has become a celebrated personality in Pakistan. Everyone looks at him for his talent, achievement and simplicity. I hope his name is remembered in the list of Pakistani legends by the end of his career.
It clearly shows that ICC only go by the power of COUNTIRS.! That's why even though Pakistan has the BEST one-day and test bowler he is not acknowledged. And teams and countries with great power like Australia India and England are Acknowledged.... UNFAIR! Not judged by TALENT but by POWER.
Its a real shame this talent was in hiding for so long. After the spot fixing scandal he has really helped to reshape the value of cricket both at home and abroad. I think he's a more exciting player and talented bowler than Saqlain.
Shame on Aamir Sohail & other pakistani cricket who didnt picked Saeed Ajmal.
The MOST wickets taken by ANY bowler EVER in a calendar year both in ODIs and test. Yet not listed for any award at all. Even a blind man will see it as unfair.
We dont need any awars..the figures speak for themselves..u make us proud man!
Finally, a cricketer who knows how to represent Pakistan cricket with honour and class.
Happy to see Pakistani bowler NO 1 in the list! I hope to have same in all categories!
yet he was excluded from the ICC cricketer of the year category, strange.
Good Job Ajmal! May Allah give you more sucess in upcoming days! Play for Pakistan and Win for Pakistan!
how funny it is to rank him top bowler and exclude him from award lists at almost same time???ICC should be embarrassed on its dual standards.
Saeed Ajmal is indeed the best thing that has happened to Pakistan in quite some time now...Indeed the best spinner of the current era, he would do injustice to his talent if he fails to break most of the records in bowling.
Best wishes and prayer's for him.
Well done!
Wish you more success ..
Ajmal want wickets ..he will get awards Automatically ..no lame icc award is needed !! Ajmal to the top !!!
we dont need any awards , the rankings speak for themselves..proud of you man!