Photo Credit: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for March which recognise and celebrate the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year.
India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March 2021, for his impressive performances in India’s recently concluded series against England. He was the standout bowler on either side in the white-ball series and was chosen the winner for the month by fans and the ICC voting academy.
Reacting to the win Bhuvneshwar Kumar said, “After what seemed like a really long and painful gap, I was delighted to be playing for India again. I used the time away to work on my fitness and skill and I am happy to be back taking wickets for my country. I would like to thank each and every person who helped me in this journey starting from my family and friends and my teammates. Also, a special thank you to the ICC voting academy and all the fans who voted for me and made me the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March.”
Commenting on Kumar’s performance in March, VVS Laxman representing the ICC Voting Academy said: “Bhuvi missed nearly a year and a half of international cricket through multiple unrelated injuries, but you’d never have guessed. He was outstanding in both the PowerPlay overs and at the death in the white-ball formats against a powerful, aggressive England batting line-up. Economical and penetrative, he was instrumental in shaping Indian triumphs in both series.”
From the South African camp, Lizelle Lee who played four ODIs against India where she scored a century and two half-centuries to move to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, was deservingly named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for March 2021.
Reacting to the win Lizelle Lee said: “I am happy and honoured to receive this award. Such accolades are a great way to keep me motivated and to continue to work even harder on my game. A big thank you to my teammates for their support as this would never have been possible without them.”
Commenting on Lee’s performance in March, Ramiz Raja representing the ICC Voting Academy added: “It is not easy scoring those many runs in alien batting conditions. It is always a challenge to adjust from bouncy pitches to slow low turning tracks and Lizelle did magnificently.”
Fans can continue to vote every month for their favourite male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket as part of the ICC Player of the Month initiative by registering on the www.icc-cricket/awards.com
The ICC Player of the Month voting process:
The three nominees for each of the categories are shortlisted based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month).
The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprises of prominent members of the cricket family including senior journalists, former players, and broadcasters and some members of the ICC Hall of Fame.
The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and will retain a 90% share of the vote. Additionally, fans registered with the ICC are able to vote via the ICC website once the shortlisted players are announced and have a 10% share of the vote. Winners are announced every second Monday of the month via the ICC’s digital channels.
ICC Voting Academy for ICC Player of the Month:
Afghanistan: Hameed Qayoomi and Javed Hamim, Australia: Adam Collins and Lisa Sthalekar, Bangladesh: Tarek Mahmud and Mohammad Isam, England: Kalika Mehta and Claire Taylor, Ireland: Ian Callender and Isobel Joyce, India: Mona Parthsarathi and VVS Laxman, New Zealand: Mark Geenty and John Wright, Pakistan: Sohail Imran and Ramiz Raja, South Africa: Firdose Moonda and Makhaya Ntini, Sri Lanka: Champika Fernando and Russel Arnold, West Indies: Ian Bishop and Andy Roberts, Zimbabwe: Tristan Holme and Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Others: AKS Satish and Preston Mommsen
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
