DHAKA, June 14, 2021 (BSS)—Mushfiqur Rahim became the first Bangladeshi player to be awarded as ICC’s Men’s Player of the Month. In a press release today, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Bangladesh’s most dependable batsman was elected as the Player of the Month for May.
Mushfiqur played one Test and three ODIs against Sri Lanka in the month of May and helped Bangladesh win their first ODI series against Sri Lanka, scoring 125 in the second ODI.
Commenting on Mushfiqur’s performance in May, VVS Laxman representing the ICC Voting Academy said: “Even after 15 years at the highest level, Mushfiqur has not lost his appetite for run-making. He was at his imperious best in the one-day series at home against Sri Lanka, a picture of consistency with the highlight being 125 in the second match which helped his side secure a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series.”
“ What made his feat even more notable was that it was Bangladesh’s first-ever ODI series triumph against the 1996 World Cup champions. To shore up the middle order and don the wicket-keeping gloves speaks volumes of his fitness and skills.”
During the ODI series against Lankan at home, Mushfiqur most of the runs came when Bangladesh were under pressure. Justifying his tag as the most dependable batsman of the country, he propped up his game to extraordinary level every time and struck 237 runs.
Pakistan’s Hasan Ali and Sri Lankan’s Praveen Jayawickrama were the other short-listed players. Hasan had picked up 14 wickets in the Test series against Zimbabwe while Praveen picked up 11 wickets in the lone Test against Bangladesh which was also his debut Test.
All-rounder Kathryn Bryce from Scotland was voted the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for May 2021. She is the first player from Scotland, male, or female, to make it to the top 10 of the batting or bowling lists in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings released recently. Kathryn played four T20Is against Ireland where she scored 96 runs and took 5 wickets with an economy rate of 4.76 in the month of May.