Pakistan skipper Babar Azam nominated for ICC player of the month award

DUBAI – The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the nominees for the ICC Player of the Month Awards for March 2022 to recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers.

The ICC Men’s Player of the Month nominees include Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite and Australia’ Pat Cummins. 

ICC in a statement said that the Pakistan skipper impressed with his brilliant knocks during Australia's historic tour of Pakistan. 

In the recently concluded Bernaud-Qadir Trophy, Babar finished as the third-highest run-scorer after Usman Khawaja and Abdullah Shafique. In his five outings, he scored 390 runs at an average of 78, including two half-centuries and a century. The highlight of the series was his match-saving 196 in the second innings of the second Test in Karachi. 

Babar continued his outstanding form in the ODI series, playing vital knocks in the first two games. In the first ODI, he notched up a score of 57 in Pakistan's 88-run loss before scoring a brilliant 118 to lead Pakistan to a six-wicket win in the second contest. 

The nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month include England’s Sophie Ecclestone, Australia’s Rachael Haynes, and Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa.