ICC announces Babar Azam, Pat Cummins and Kraigg Brathwaite as contenders for Player of the Month Award

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the three contenders for the Men's Player of the Month award earlier today. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins and West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite will fight for the prize.

Babar played an integral role in his team's 2-1 win in the Cricket World Cup Super League series against Australia. The right-handed batter won the Player of the Series award for recording two match-winning tons against the Aaron Finch-led outfit.

Cummins did not play the ODIs and the T20Is against Pakistan, but he led the Aussies from the front in their historic 1-0 World Test Championship series win against Babar Azam's men. The right-arm pacer took 12 wickets in the series, with eight of them coming in the Lahore Test that helped the visitors win the Bernaud-Qadir Trophy.

Like Pat Cummins, Kraigg Brathwaite helped his team win an important series in the World Test Championship. The West Indies Test skipper aggregated 341 runs in six innings of the series against England. His fantastic performances powered West Indies to a 1-0 series win over Joe Root's men.

Rachel Haynes and Sophie Ecclestone among contenders for ICC Women's Player of the Month award

Sophie Ecclestone stole the show in the 2022 Women's World Cup (Image courtesy: Getty Images)

In the women's category, Sophie Ecclestone, Rachel Haynes and Laura Woolvardt are the contenders for the Player of the Month for March 2022 award. Ecclestone took 21 wickets for England in the recently concluded Women's World Cup.

Haynes scored 497 runs for champions Australia at an average of 62.12, while Woolvardt aggregated 433 runs for South Africa, registering five 50s.

Fans can cast their votes for Player of the Month on the official ICC website.