Experienced India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday won the ICC Player of the Month award for his superlative show in the limited overs series against England in March.
The 31-year-old Indian took six wickets at an economy rate of 4.65 in the three ODIs, while capturing four wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 6.38 in the five T20Is to emerge as the standout bowler on either side in the white ball series.
“After what seemed like a really long and painful gap, I was delighted to be playing for India again. I used the time away to work on my fitness and skill and I am happy to be back taking wickets for my country,” Bhuvneshwar said in an ICC release.
“I would like to thank each and every person who helped me in this journey starting from my family and friends and my teammates. Also, a special thank you to the ICC voting academy and all the fans who voted for me and made me the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March.”
Besides Bhuvneshwar, ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams were also nominated in the men’s category.
Former India batsman VVS Laxman, representing the ICC Voting Academy, said: “Bhuvi missed nearly a year and a half of international cricket through multiple unrelated injuries, but you’d never have guessed.
“He was outstanding in both the PowerPlay overs and at the death in the white-ball formats against a powerful, aggressive England batting line-up. Economical and penetrative, he was instrumental in shaping Indian triumphs in both series.” According to a release issued by the game’s governing body, the three nominees for each of the categories were short-listed based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month).