Bhuvneshwar Kumar bags ICC Men's Player of the Month award for March

Bhuvneshwar won the award for his stellar showing in the white-ball series against England last month.

By Salman Anjum - 13 Apr, 2021

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (April 13) named the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for March. The newly-introduced award recognizes the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.

For his stellar showing in the white-ball series against England, India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the ICC Men's Player of the Month for March.

In the absence of ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar spearheaded the attack brilliantly to script India’s T20I and ODI series victories over England.

While Bhuvneshwar picked up 4 scalps in the five-match T20I series, he claimed 6 wickets from three ODIs, including the figures of 3/42 in the series decider.

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 with 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."

Talking about the pacer's performance last month, 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."

In the women’s category, South Africa’s Lizelle Lee clinched the prestigious award. She played four ODIs against India, slamming a century and two half-centuries to attain the No. 1 position in ICC Women's ODI batting rankings.

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 said: "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."

(With ICC inputs)

By Salman Anjum - 13 Apr, 2021

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