DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for March which recognise and celebrates the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.
India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the ICC Men's Player of the Month for March for his impressive performances in India's recently concluded series against England. He was the standout bowler on either side in the white-ball series and was chosen the winner by fans and the ICC voting academy.
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."
Commenting on the pacer's performance in March, 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."
From the South African camp, Lizelle Lee who played four ODIs against India where she scored a century and two half-centuries to move to the top of the ICC Women's ODI Batting Rankings, was deservingly named the ICC Women's Player of the Month for March.
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 added: "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."