At the 15th Annual ESPNcricinfo awards, India's successful and popular wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant won the top 'Test batting' prize for his 89 not out, which broke Australia's unbeaten record at Gabba and helped India win the Border Gavaskar Trophy last year, while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was named 'Captain of the Year.'
Kyle Jamieson won the Test bowling award for his 5 for 31, which helped New Zealand win their first World Test title.
Pant led India to an amazing victory in the final stages of the last Test, achieving a 2-1 series win that few could have predicted when India entered the match with a third-string team due to many injuries to their first-choice players.
New Zealand was also given the Captain of the Year award. Kane Williamson, who beat out Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, and Aaron Finch for the award, won for getting his team to a Test championship and a T20 World Cup runner-up finish.
Ollie Robinson, an England fast bowler, was awarded Debutant of the Year for his 37 wickets at 21.16 in eight Tests, making him the country's second-highest wicket-taker in 2021.
Despite having a very forgettable year, England's men's squad managed to win three awards. The ODI bowling title was won by Saqib Mahmood, who took 4 for 42 in a nine-wicket win over Pakistan. At the T20 World Cup in Sharjah, Jos Buttler received the T20I batting award for his unbeaten 101 off 67 balls on a difficult wicket against Sri Lanka. His innings bested Matthew Wade's end-of-innings going-over, of Pakistan, among others.