Ravi Ashwin Becomes ICC Player Of The Month For February
With a whopping 24 wickets in February and a defining hundred against England, the choice for February’s ICC Player of the month was not very difficult.
Ravichandran Ashwin became the second Indian after Rishabh Pant to win the newly introduced ICC player of the month award. This award is constituted to “recognize and celebrate the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket each month,” as per ICC’s website. England’s Tammy Beaumont won the same award in the women’s category.
Ashwin won this award courtesy of his match winning performances against England in the recently concluded Test series. His role in India’s successive Test wins was quite remarkable. Ashwin played three matches where he also scored a 106 in the second innings of the second Test match. He also managed to pick up his 400th Test scalp during this period. Overall, Ashwin picked up 24 wickets and scored 176 runs in the three matches that he played in. Ashwin’s choice was made after a unanimous vote by ICC Voting Academy favored the all-rounder.
Commenting on Ashwin’s performance, Ian Bishop said, “Ashwin’s consistent wicket taking, even in helpful conditions have helped to put his team ahead in a very important series. His century in the second Test was as critical as it came when England were trying to claw their way back into the match. That knock ensured that India shut the door on the opposition.”
The winner of the ICC Player Of The Month is chosen by the ICC Voting Academy which is made of various ex-cricketers and journalists from the cricketing world. Fans can also vote for this award on ICC’s website but the weightage of the fans’ vote is 10%.
ICC Voting Academy for ICC Player of the Month:
Afghanistan: Hameed Qayoomi and Javed Hamim, Australia: Adam Collins and Lisa Sthalekar, Bangladesh: Tarek Mahmoud and Mohammad Isam, England: Kalika Mehta and Claire Taylor, Ireland: Ian Callender and Isobel Joyce, India: Mona Parthsarathi and VVS Laxman, New Zealand: Mark Geenty and John Wright, Pakistan: Sohail Imran and Ramiz Raja, South Africa: Firdose Moonda and Makhaya Ntini, Sri Lanka: Champika Fernando and Russel Arnold, West Indies: Ian Bishop and Andy Roberts, Zimbabwe: Tristan Holme and Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Others: AKS Satish and Preston Mommsen
Congratulation Ravi Ashwin on the success!