Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has made history by becoming the first player from his country to be crowned the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year.

The ICC made the announcement today, honouring the Afghan all-rounder as the best cricketer in men's 50-overs cricket in 2024.

"Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai built on an impressive 2023 to become one of the world's leading One Day International performers in 2024, with his right-arm pace bowling and multi-faceted batting game helping take the Afghanistan team to a new level," read the ICC release.

"He finished the year as his national team's second-highest run scorer (behind Rahmanullah Gurbaz) and second-highest wicket taker (behind AM Ghazanfar), with Afghanistan winning four of their five ODI series in 2024.

"His individual excellence wasn't enough to earn Afghanistan a series win away in Sri Lanka at the start of the year, but he was central to four straight ODI series wins for Afghanistan, as his team won against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe." the release added.

Omarzai played 14 ODIs in 2024, amassing 417 runs and claiming 17 wickets. The Afghan all-rounder was a standout performer with bat and ball throughout the year, scoring his runs at an average of 52.12 and bagging his wickets at 20.47.

In his very first ODI of the year, he smashed an unbeaten 149 in a remarkable rearguard effort in defeat against Sri Lanka. The destructive 86 not out from just 50 deliveries against South Africa was another memorable performance, with his rapid scoring helping set up a crushing win in the second ODI to win the series.

In the series-deciding third ODI against Bangladesh, he picked up 4-37 with the ball and then hit an unbeaten 70 off 77 balls to ensure Afghanistan's victory with 10 balls in hand.

ICC also named India' Jasprit Bumrah as the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year 2024.