ICC Player of the Month Award: Babar, Fakhar get nominated
Pakistan cricket team duo Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month Award for April. They have been nominated by cricket's governing body for their stupendous performance in the limited-overs series against South Africa. Nepal batsman Khushal Bhurtel was the other player to be nominated in the men's category. Here are the details.
How did Babar perform in April?
In the three ODIs against South Africa, Pakistani skipper Babar registered scores of 103, 31, and 94. In the four-match T20I series, he amassed scores of 14, 50, 122, and 24. Babar didn't stop just there as he carried forward the momentum against Zimbabwe. He got scores of 2, 42, 51, and 0 as Pakistan clinched a third successive series win in limited-overs.
The major highlights of these two Pakistani players
In the ODIs against SA, Babar won two Player of the Match awards in Pakistan's series victory. He also eclipsed Virat Kohli as the No.1-ranked ODI batsman. His 197-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan in the third T20I against SA was the highest partnership in a T20I run chase. Fakhar's two centuries enabled him to jump to a career-best seventh position in the ODI Rankings.
Analyzing the performance of Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar was in splendid form in the ODIs against SA, amassing scores of 8, 193, and 101. He played three T20Is against the Proteas, hitting 27, 8*, and 60. Against Zimbabwe, Fakhar failed to impress, scoring 13, 2, and 0.
Nepal's Kushal Bhurtel emerges as a future star
Nepal's opening batsman Kushal Bhurtel created history by scoring three consecutive half-centuries to become the first player in T20I history to do so. The 24-year-old was the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 278 runs as Nepal won their tri-series against Netherlands and Malaysia. His brilliant performance granted him an entry into the top 100 of the ICC T20I Rankings (93rd position).
A look at the nominees in women's cricket
In the women's section, Australian duo of Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt were nominated alongside New Zealand's Leigh Kasperek. Alyssa played three ODIs versus New Zealand, scoring 155 runs at an average of 51.66. Meanwhile, Megan became Australia's leading wicket-taker in the same series, taking seven wickets at an average of 13.14. Leigh claimed nine wickets at an average of 7.77.
