On Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of the ‘Players of the Month Awards’ for April 2021. These awards recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.
Last week, ICC had shared the list of nominations for this recognition. In the male category, the competition was between Pakistan captain Babar Azam, opener Fakhar Zaman, and Nepal’s rising talent Kushal Bhurtel.
Similarly, in the female category, the nominees were Australian wicket-keeper batter Alyssa Healy, fast-bowler Megan Schutt, and White Ferns’ off-spinner Leigh Kasperek.
Amongst men, Pakistan skipper Babar won the ‘Player of the Month’ for April 2021 for his impressive performances across all formats in the recently concluded series against South Africa. The right-handed batsman scored a phenomenal 122 off 59 balls in the third T20I against Proteas and followed it up with an 82-ball 94 runs knock during 3rd ODI against the same opposition.
🔸 Three ODIs, 228 runs at 76.00
🔸 Seven T20Is, 305 runs at 43.57
🔥 Became the No.1 ODI batsmanWell done, @babarazam258 for winning the ICC Men's Player of the Month for April 👏#ICCPOTM pic.twitter.com/CuCaodFEk7
— ICC (@ICC) May 10, 2021
Reacting to Babar’s wonderful performance in April, ICC Voting Academy representer of Pakistan Ramiz Raja said: “The world bats in two ways in white-ball cricket. One way is to destroy attacks with muscle and force, and then there is the Babar Azam way, like conducting a batting symphony with punch, panache and flair, and he deserves to win this award.”
When it comes to Women cricket, the prestigious award was bagged by Healy for her supreme consistency with the willow against New Zealand. In the three-match ODI series against White Ferns, Healy amassed 155 runs at an average of 51.66, with 65 being her best score.
🔸 Three ODIs, 155 runs at 51.66
🔥 Leading run-scorer in Australia’s record-breaking ODI series win over New ZealandCongratulations, @ahealy77 for becoming the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 🎉#ICCPOTM pic.twitter.com/BX0fKScm2o
— ICC (@ICC) May 10, 2021
Commenting on Healy’s outstanding run in the recent white-ball fixtures, the member of ICC Voting Academy Ian Bishop said that the Aussie star deserved to win this award.
“Healy deserves to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month – April as she added the runs at the top consistently and at a good tempo to help set up Australia’s scoring in chases and target setting across all three games of their record-breaking series,” said Bishop.
