ICC, on Monday, announced the winners of Player of The Month awards and it is England's T20 World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler who got it, making it the first time ever for him.
Pakistan's Sidra Ameen put on another brilliant performance against Ireland in the ODI series and got the award for the 2nd straight time in women's category.
Buttler's Boss Performance
One of the most fearsome batters in world cricket, Buttler had produced a Player of the Match performance in the dramatic 20-run victory over New Zealand in Brisbane to start the month with a bang. Making his 100th T20I appearance, the opener smashed 73 from 47 balls to provide some much-needed momentum to England's campaign at the T20 showpiece.
After England had secured their passage to the knockout stages, Buttler demonstrated his full array of strokeplay in smashing 80 from 49 balls while chasing 169 for victory in the semifinal against India.
His record-breaking opening partnership of 170 with Alex Hales saw England claim a historic 10-wicket win in Adelaide. In the final, Buttler made a valuable 26 against a menacing Pakistan bowling attack to lead England to their second T20 World Cup trophy.
Also Read: BCCI to axe Rahane, Ishant from central contracts; here are major agendas of meeting
"I want to thank the fans for voting for me as the ICC Player of the Month for November. This award is down to the efforts of my teammates in what was the most incredible month of cricket, culminating in winning the ICC men's T20 World Cup in Australia," Buttler said.
"It is right up there amongst the best months of cricket I've been involved in, and it was pretty special to lead a group of players to the ultimate accolade of becoming world champions."
Sidra's Stardom
Talking about Ameen, she amassed 277 runs through the series against Ireland and was dismissed just once. She started the month with her highest score in ODIs, a remarkable 176 not out, as the hosts claimed a convincing 128-run victory in the first match. She posted another unbeaten score of 91 from 93 balls in the second ODI, this time in a nine-wicket victory.
The next big event for ICC would be the ODI World Cup in India next year, followed by another T20 World Cup in 2024 in USA and West Indies.
(Inputs PTI)
