Batsman Asif Ali has been voted the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s Player of the Month for October on Tuesday, after a stunning knock during the ongoing T20 World Cup.
“Asif beat Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Namibia’s David Wiese to the men’s award, and Delany beat teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe’s Mary-Anne Musonda to the women’s prize,” the report said.
As per the ICC website, Ireland’s Laura Delany also secured the title in the women’s category.
It is pertinent to note that Asif scored 52 runs without defeat across three matches for the Green Shirts in October at the T20 World Cup, scoring at a strike rate of 273.68.
The report mentioned his spectacular performance during the clash with New Zealand, when Asif scored 27 runs from 12 balls, helping the team defeat the Black Caps.
In the match against Afghanistan, with Pakistan needing 24 runs in the final two overs, Asif scored four sixes in the 19th.
Reacting to the development, sports journalist Zainab Abbas congratulated Asif and said that it was “well-deserved”.
Singing Asif’s praises, ICC Voting Academy Member Irfan Pathan said that “helping your team to win, especially from the jaws of defeat, is what makes him special”.
“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,” he said.
