ISLAMABAD: Pakistani opening batter Fakhar Zaman clinched the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Player of the Month award on Tuesday, earning the recognition after his impressive back-to-back centuries against New Zealand last month.
Zaman, one of Pakistan’s most aggressive batters who has become a mainstay in the green shirts’ ODI squad, became the fourth Pakistani to score three consecutive centuries in ODIs when he smashed an unbeaten 180-run knock against New Zealand late last month.
The ton helped Pakistan win the match and remarkably chase a mammoth 336-run target. Zaman hit 17 boundaries and six massive sixes during his innings, helping Pakistan put up its fourth-highest ODI score and complete their second-highest ODI run chase.
“It is truly an honor for me to be named ICC Player of the Month for April,” Zaman said in a statement. “This month has been one of the highlights of my career and it was an amazing feeling to play in front of my own people in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi.”
The left-handed batter, who beat Sri Lanka’s spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, and New Zealand batter Mark Chapman for the award, now has 3,148 ODI runs under his belt. Zaman boasts an average of 49.71 in ODIs and a strike-rate of almost 95 during his 67-match career.
“I hope to continue the momentum leading into the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, and make Pakistan cricket fans happy and proud with my performances,” he said.
The Pakistani batter shot to fame overnight after he smashed a match-winning century against Pakistan’s arch-rivals India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England.
