Babar Azam named ICC Men's Player of the Month

Babar Azam's brilliant form since the start of the year unsurprisingly earned him the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Player of the Month Award for March.

Azam starred in Pakistan's recent white ball and test series against Australia and has notched seven 50+ batting innings in his last eight international innings across all formats.

Azam's incredible innings of 196 in Pakistan's second test against Australia last month helped his side to salvage a draw against a formidable bowling attack that included Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

Azam's innings helped him to truly cement his name in the conversation for batting generational greats-alongside the likes of Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli.

Azam beat off competition from the West Indies' Kraigg Braithwaite and Australia's Pat Cummins to win the award. He became the first player to win the ICC Player of the Month award twice, after previously having done so in April 2021.

Former West Indies batter and member of the ICC voting panel Darren Ganga highlighted that Babar's ability to adapt his game across formats helped him to win the award.

"Babar wins this award not only because of the significant glut of runs scored during the Pakistan v Australia tour, but also because his success with the bat across formats. Being able to fulfil the burden of expectation as a captain and batter for Pakistan as host to an Australian team visiting after 24 years is a monumental achievement," he said.

Haynes scored 429 runs across eight matches in the World Cup, averaging 61.28.

She beat off competition from the likes of England's Sophie Ecclestone and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt.

Former Pakistan cricketer Sana Mir highlighted that Haynes was rewarded following her consistency.

"Rachael Haynes has displayed tremendous consistency for Australia," she said.

"She set the tone for the tournament with a big hundred in their first game and her contributions throughout the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup set a platform for the other batters to build on. Haynes is a quality batter and a leader in women's game."