The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the winners ofthe ICC Player of the Month Awards for April which recognise and celebratethe best performances from both male and female cricketers across all formsof international cricket throughout the year.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for April 2021,for his consistent and outstanding performances across all formats in therecently concluded series against South Africa and was chosen as the Aprilwinner by fans and the ICC voting academy.

Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africahelped him gain 13 rating points to reach a career-best 865 points. He alsocontributed 122 from 59 balls in Pakistan’s successful chase in the thirdmatch of a T20I series against the same opposition.

Commenting on Azam’s performance in April, Ramiz Raja representing the ICCVoting Academy said: “The world bats in two ways in white ball cricket. Oneway is to destroy attacks with muscle and force and then there is the BabarAzam way, like conducting a batting symphony with punch, panache and flair,and he deserves to win this award.”

From the Australian camp, Alyssa Healy was deservingly named the ICCWomen’s Player of the Month for April 2021. Healy’s consistency with thebat has been a significant part of Australia’s dominance, showing her classin all conditions and against all types of bowling in the recent seriesagainst New Zealand. Healy played three ODIs versus New Zealand, scoring155 runs at an average of 51.66 and a strike rate of 98.72. Her efforts sawher finish as the leading run-scorer in Australia’s series victory over NewZealand that extended their record-winning streak to 24 ODIs.