The International Cricket Council(ICC) had announced a new monthly award which would be given to the best performer of every month. This award was launched recently in January 2021. ICC on Tuesday announced the nominees for the ICC Player of the Month Awards for the month of February to recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket. Fans have been treated to some fantastic cricket the last few months and can now vote on ICC’s official website for their favourite ICC Player of the Month (February). For February, the three player who have been nominated are India’s spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin, England’s Run machine Joe Root and the new star of West Indies, Kyle Mayers.
Ravichandran Ashwin had a memorable February, picking up 24 wickets at a fabulous average of 15.7. He picked up five-wicket hauls in the first two Tests against England in Chennai.Even as Axar Patel dominated the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad, Ravichandran Ashwin played his part, claiming seven wickets in the Test. During the course of the Test, which concluded in two days, he also became the second-fastest bowler to reach 400 Test wickets.The off-spinner impressed with the bat as well. He scored his fifth Test hundred in the second Test against England in Chennai to cap off a memorable all-round show. India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant had won the men’s award in January while the women’s award went to South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail. English Test captain Joe Root makes it to the list of nominations again this month for his outstanding performance with the bat and the ball. He scored a total of 333 runs and took 6 wickets overall in the 3 Tests that he played against India.
In the first Test against India, Root scored a match-winning 218 to lead England to victory. From the West Indies, Test debutant Kyle Mayers played 2 Tests against Bangladesh and scored a match-winning 210 to help the West Indies successfully chase 395 and win the first Test against Bangladesh. This performance alone is deserving of this nomination. The three nominees for each of the categories are shortlisted based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month). This shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprising prominent members of the cricket family including senior journalists, former players, and broadcasters and some members of the ICC Hall of Fame.