T20 World Cup 2021: Asif Ali beats Shakib Al Hasan, David Wiese to win ICC Player of the Month award

After his brilliant performances in ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Asif Ali has bagged the ICC Player of the Month award for October 2021. The Pakistani middle-order batter beat Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Namibian star David Wiese to win the prize.

Asif Ali played an integral role in Pakistan's journey to the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinals. The right-handed batter played two match-winning cameos against New Zealand and Afghanistan to help his team register victories in the two close encounters.

He was a last-minute addition to the squad, but Asif Ali has proven the selectors right by scoring 52 runs at a strike rate of 273.68 in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

In the women's division, Ireland captain Laura Delany won the ICC Player of the Month award for taking four wickets and scoring 189 runs in her nation's 3-1 ODI series victory against Zimbabwe Women.

Helping your team to win, especially from the jaws of defeat, is what makes Asif Ali special: Irfan Pathan

Asif Ali will be the player to watch out for in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinals

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Asif Ali while speaking on behalf of the ICC Voting Academy. Pathan highlighted how Ali's performances made a huge impact in Pakistan's two victories and 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. 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."

Asif Ali will be in action this Thursday in Dubai when Pakistan lock horns with Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinals. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the big game.