ICC Player of the month award for March: Babar Azam and Rachael Haynes win the awards

Pakistan Captain Babar Azam and Australian Opener Rachael Haynes have been awarded the ICC Player of the month award for March in men's and women's categories respectively.

Babar Azam's superb series against the Aussies

Babar Azam had a superlative month in the men's category. His superb 196 in the fourth innings of the second test against Australia was one of his remarkable performances in the last month. He defeated West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Australia skipper Pat Cummins for the award.

The Pakistani skipper was the third-highest run-getter of the Benaud-Qadir trophy between Pakistan and Australia. He scored 390 runs at an average of 78 in the five innings of the series. Moreover, he recorded two fifties and one century as well in the series.

Read Also: Quickest to 15 hundred in ODI cricket

In the ODI series, he again showed his class with a brilliant 118 in the second ODI. Not to ignore his 57 in the first ODI, in a losing cause.

"Significantly, him being able to fulfil the burden of expectation as a captain and batsman for Pakistan being host to an Australian team visiting after 24 years is a monumental achievement," said former West Indies player and member of the voting panel Daren Ganga.

Rachael Haynes and 7th silverware for the Aussies

Meanwhile, Australian Opener Rachael Haynes was one of the standout performers for Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup 2022. She was the first player to score more than 500 runs in any Women's World Cup. She was also the highest run-getter of the World Cup before Allyssa Healy went past her.

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone and South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt were two other nominees for the award. But, Australia's success at the World Cup and Haynes' contribution were significant enough for her to win the award.

Read Also: Every record that was broken by Alyssa Healy in the Women's World Cup final

Haynes scored a total of 429 runs at an average of 61.28 in the 8 matches she played in March. Along with that, her century (130) against England in the first match of the World Cup had set the tone for their 7th World Cup victory.

Read Also: The Second Coming: Rachael Haynes and World Cup

"She set the tone for Australia with a big hundred in their first game of the tournament. Her contributions throughout the World Cup set the other batters to build on. Haynes is a quality batter and a leader in women's game," said former Pakistani captain Sana Mir.