The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday revealed the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for September 2022. Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan is crowned ICC Men's Player of the Month, while India's inspirational captain Harmanpreet Kaur is named ICC Women's Player of the Month.
In a highly competitive field, Rizwan wins his first ICC Men's Player of the Month award following a stunning run of scoring throughout September, beating out other contenders Cameron Green (Australia) and Axar Patel (India).
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The Pakistani star scored 553 runs in 10 Twenty20 Internationals, including exploits in the Men's Asia Cup and the ensuing home T20I series against a touring England team. With a batting average of 69.12 over the month, the talismanic opener also registered seven half-centuries, demonstrating why he is ranked first in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I batter rankings.
Rizwan will be a key figure for Pakistan as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in six days. He highlighted his importance during Pakistan's run to the Asia Cup Final, scoring three half-centuries in the latter stages of the tournament, including 71 against India and 55 in the Final against eventual winners Sri Lanka.
Reacting to claiming the latest ICC Men’s Player of the Month crown, Rizwan commented: “I would like to thank Almighty Allah and express my heartfelt delight to all that enabled me to achieve this award.
“I want to give my high appreciation to all my teammates as they made things easy for me. These achievements boost your confidence. I am happy with my performance and I would like to take this momentum forward in Australia.
Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur becomes India's first ICC Women's Player of the Month after leading her country to its first ODI series victory in England since 1999.
During the ODI series, India's captain was at her best, scoring 221 runs in three matches while maintaining a strike rate of 103.47 and only getting dismissed once. In the first match of the series, she showed control and poise, scoring 74 not out to help her side chase down England's total of 228 at a canter to win by seven wickets.
In the global poll held among media representatives, ICC Hall of Famers, former international players, and fans registered at icc-cricket.com, Kaur defeated compatriot Smriti Mandhana and Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana.
On winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for September, Kaur commented: “It was great to be nominated for the award, and to win it is an amazing feeling. To come out as winner when being nominated alongside Smriti and Nigar is very humbling.
“I have always taken immense pride in representing my country and achieving the historic ODI series win in England will remain a landmark moment for me in my career.
"The game of cricket is blessed to have some of the finest athletes on the sporting circuit and to be chosen the ICC Women’s Player of the Month amongst them is a special recognition for me as an individual and the captain of the Indian cricket team.”
Fans can continue to vote every month for their favourite male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket as part of the ICC Player of the Month initiative by registering at www.icc-cricket.com/awards.
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