ICC Started awarding the ‘Player of the Month’ Awards in January 2021. The nominees as well as the winners are decided by an ICC panel. The panel consists of ex-cricketers and journalists. However, the public vote contributes 10% to the final result. For March 2022, the ICC Player of the Month has been announced. Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has shown great form recently. Therefore, he was named POTM for the month of March. Moreover, he becomes the first cricketer to get the ICC POTM twice. Earlier, he was named the Player of the month for April 2021.
In the Women’s category, the Australian opening batter Rachael Haynes has been named Player for the month of March. The Australian women’s side has won the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022. Rachael had contributed heavily to their title win. Therefore, she emerged as the winner of March’s Player of the month.
ICC Player of the Month for March 2022
Babar Azam
Babar Azam is one of the best contemporary batters. His thrilling batting abilities and a showcase of firm intent make him a globally liked player. This past month has been more special for him. Australia was on a series to Pakistan. The teams played 3 Tests, 3 ODIs, and a T20I. Babar played a stunning knock of 114 in the 2nd ODI. Whereas, in the 3rd ODI he smashed 105*. He was awarded the Player of the Series. As Pakistan won the series by 2-1.
However, of the 3 Tests, 2 were drawn whereas Australia won the remaining Test. In the Tests, he smashed 2 half-centuries and missed a double century by 4 runs. Scoring 196 in the 2nd Test. This made him stand out as he lead his team’s batting attack from the forefront. Because of this consistent form that he has shown he became an obvious choice for the honor. Australia is known for its rather formidable bowling. However, Babar had dominated the Aussie bowlers throughout the bi-lateral. Furthermore, Pat Cummins had performed well in the tournament and was nominated for the ICC POTM too. However, Babar overshadowed him.
“Babar wins this award not only because of the significant glut of runs scored during the Pakistan v Australia tour, but also because his success with the bat across formats. Being able to fulfil the burden of expectation as a captain and batter for Pakistan as host to an Australian team visiting after 24 years is a monumental achievement.”
Daren Ganga, member, ICC voting panel
Rachael Haynes
For quite some time now, Australia Women’s team has been dominating Women’s cricket. Recently, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup was played throughout March and the final was played on April 3rd. The Australian team has remained unbeaten throughout. Moreover, they lifted their 7th WC title. Rachael Haynes has contributed massively to the team’s success. Haynes had smashed a total of 429 crucial runs in 9 matches. Moreover, she is only behind Haely in the top run-scorers in the tournament. Rachael has scored the runs at an average of 62.12 at a strike rate of 82.56. in addition, she smashed a century and 3 half-centuries.
Other players nominated were SA’s Laura Wolvaardt and England’s Sophie Ecclestone. But, when a player’s contribution leads to the team’s win in a tournament. Its importance remains unmatched.
