The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for October, celebrating remarkable performances from male and female cricketers in all formats of international cricket throughout the year.
Asif Ali of Pakistan and Laura Delany of Ireland have been selected as the ICC Players of the Month for October. Ali won over Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Namibia’s David Wiese for the men’s award, while Delany triumphed over her teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe’s Mary-Anne Musonda for the women’s award.
Ali scored an unbeaten 52 runs across three matches for Pakistan in October during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, achieving 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 in the following match, Ali gained widespread recognition when, with Pakistan needing 24 runs from the last two overs against Afghanistan, he struck four sixes in the 19th over.
Speaking about Ali’s performance, ICC Voting Academy member Irfan Pathan remarked: “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. Although he scored considerably less than other two nominated players, the contribution he made and the pressure situations from where he snatched the victories made all the difference.”
Ireland captain Delany stood out in their 3-1 ODI series victory against Zimbabwe. The all-rounder excelled with both bat and ball, scoring 189 runs at an average of 63 and also taking four wickets at an average of 27.
Regarding Delany’s performance, ICC Voting Academy member Lisa Sthalekar stated:“Laura has been playing International cricket for over a decade and has the difficult task of captaining her country, which carries a great weight of expectation. I have been following her career, ever since I played alongside her in the Gordon Women’s Club in Sydney and watched her development. This recent series was a breakout series for her as she was able to register her highest ODI score and is a worthy recipient of the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October.”
