Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has won the ICC Player of the Month Award for April. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the monthly award which recognises and celebrates the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year.
The right-hander won the award for his consistent and outstanding performances across all formats in the recently concluded series against South Africa and was chosen as the April winner by fans and the ICC voting academy.
Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africa helped him gain 13 rating points to reach a career-best 865 points. He also contributed 122 from 59 balls in Pakistan’s successful chase in the third match of a T20I series against the same opposition.
Last month, Babar Azam also ended Virat Kohli’s reign by becoming the number one ranked ODI batsman in the world.
Commenting on Azam’s performance in April, Ramiz Raja representing the ICC Voting Academy 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.”
From the Australian camp, Alyssa Healy was deservingly named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 2021. Healy’s consistency with the bat has been a significant part of Australia’s dominance, showing her class in all conditions and against all types of bowling in the recent series against New Zealand.
Healy played three ODIs versus New Zealand, scoring 155 runs at an average of 51.66 and a strike rate of 98.72. Her efforts saw her finish as the leading run-scorer in Australia’s series victory over New Zealand that extended their record-winning streak to 24 ODIs.
Commenting on Healy’s performance in April, Ian Bishop representing the ICC Voting Academy added. “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.”
