BSS, Dhaka :
Bangladesh ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan failed to grab the ‘ICC Player of the Month’ award for the second time after Pakistan’s Asif Ali emerged as winner for the award for October.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced Asif Ali’s name for the honor which recognises and celebrates the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year.
Shakib won the award earlier for the month of July.
Apart from Shakib Al Hasan, Namibia’s David Wiese was shortlisted to the men’s award. Ireland’s Laura Delany was voted the ICC Players of the Month for October for female cricketers. Delany beat teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe’s Mary-Anne Musonda to the women’s prize.
Ali scored 52 runs without defeat across three matches for Pakistan in October at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scoring at a strike rate of 273.68.
He first grabbed headlines at the tournament by blasting 27 not out from 12 balls to help Pakistan defeat New Zealand, but it was what he did in the next game that made him a household name. With Pakistan needing 24 runs off the final two overs against Afghanistan, Ali hit four sixes in the 19th.
Commenting on Ali’s performance ICC Voting Academy member Irfan Pathan said: “Helping your team to win, especially from the jaws of defeat is what makes Asif Ali special. And he did that not just once but twice,”.
