Shakib, Stafanie Taylor Voted ICC Players Of The Month

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and West Indies women's team captain Stafanie Taylor were voted as ICC Player of the Month for July 2021 in men's and women's categories respectively on Wednesday.

Shakib, who was nominated alongside West Indies' Hayden Walsh Jr and Australia's Mitchell Marsh, put up an outstanding performance in July.

The Bangladesh all-rounder starred in his side's series wins against Zimbabwe -- scoring 145 runs and picking eight wickets in the ODIs. He followed that up with three wickets in T20Is at an economy of 7. He also picked five wickets in the one-off Test -- with a spell of 4/82 in the first innings -- as Bangladesh won by 220 runs. He is also the top all-rounder in ICC Men's T20 Rankings.

"It is very humbling to be voted ICC Men's Player of the Month for July 2021. There have been many outstanding performances during the month and that is why this is special for me. I find most pleasure and satisfaction when I contribute to wins and therefore I am very happy to have helped in Bangladesh's successes over the last few weeks," said Shakib in a statement released by ICC.

Taylor was the standout performer for West Indies in the limited-overs series against Pakistan.

She was nominated for the award alongside teammate Hayley Matthews and Pakistan's Fatima Sana, but her all-round performance in the series helped her claim the most votes.

In four ODIs against Pakistan, Taylor scored 175 runs with a strike rate of 79.18, and also picked three wickets at an economical 3.72. She also picked four wickets in the T20Is at 9.25, and a stunning economy rate of 5.55.

"This is a bit surprising to me, winning ICC Player of the Month award for July, but I'm happy. It shows that the hard work you put in, will pay off and it did, against Pakistan, to help us win that series. We played well in both formats. I'm over in England now playing in The Hundred, which is a different kind of competition, played at a faster pace, but I'm still working hard. We're also be looking forward to the series against South Africa at home, and we will be looking to win that as well. I want to thank the fans for all their support, as it is always appreciated," said Stafanie.