Babar Azam, Rachael Haynes voted winners of ICC Player of the Month awards for March 2022
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Australia's star opening batter Rachael Haynes have been named as the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for March 2022.
Babar Azam won the award for ICC's Men's Player of the Month for his superlative performances with the bat in the month of March. The talented right-hander showcased stunning form during Pakistan's recently concluded multi-format home series against Australia.
He amassed 390 runs in the three-match Test series, the second-highest by a Pakistani batter in the red-ball rubber. He received appreciation from all quarters for his gutsy knock of 196 during the final innings of the second Test in Karachi.
Azam made a significant impact in the subsequent ODI series as well, scoring 57 and 118 in the first two fixtures. It is worth mentioning that as per the latest ICC Rankings, he is the No.1 ranked batter in ODIs and T20Is.
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Australia's champion batter Rachael Haynes was awarded the ICC's Women's Player of the Month award for her performances in March. She featured in eight ODIs across the month and managed 429 runs from the same at a brilliant average of 61.28.
She competed against fellow nominees Sophie Ecclestone (England) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) for the award. The Aussie star received the most votes and was ultimately crowned the ICC's Women's Player of the Month for March.
"Babar Azam was able to transition success with the bat across formats" - Daren Ganga
Former West Indies player Daren Ganga, who is also part of the ICC's voting panel, lauded Azam for his performances across formats. He pointed out how that batter was impressive against Australia in both the Test as well as the ODI series.
Ganga was quoted as saying on ICC’s website:
"Babar Azam wins this award not only because of his significant glut of runs scored during the Pakistan v Australia tour, he was able to transition success with the bat across formats, from the Test Series into ODIs.
"Significantly, him being able to fulfil the burden of expectation as a captain and batsman for Pakistan being host to an Australian team visiting after 24 years is a monumental achievement."
Most ODI hundreds for Pakistan!
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Notably, Azam trumped the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) and Pat Cummins (Australia) to win the prestigious award. He also became the first player to win the ICC's Men's Player of the Month award twice.