On Thrusday, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, and the UAE’s Asif Khan have been nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for March 2023, announced the global governing body of the sport.
Williamson is back to doing what he does best for New Zealand: playing long to help his nation win matches of cricket after going through a bit of a dry spell in Test cricket over the past 24 months. Williamson scored a hundred and a double-hundred in each of his three games during the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. When New Zealand required 285 runs to win in the final innings of the first Test, the century came in.
Bangladesh has become a force to be reckoned with at home, and a lot of that has been down to the all-round exploits of experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Shakib, who finished as both the top run-scorer and wicket-taker for the Tigers with 141 runs in three matches with two fifties, was one of the few bright spots for Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series against England. Additionally, he had six wickets in the match. Shakib led the way with a 71-ball 75 and a four-for to earn Player of the Match honours in the hosts’ 50-run victory in Bangladesh’s lone series victory.
In UAE’s final three games at home, Asif tallied two 50s, both of which came against Nepal. After a quiet start to the series in Nepal, Asif exploded with a 42-ball 101* that was laced with four boundaries and 11 maximums.
In a contest for the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 against Nepal, Asif Khan scored the fourth-fastest ODI men’s century ever.