India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for March 2021, for his impressive performances in the recently concluded series against England. The standout bowler on either side in the white-ball series was chosen the winner for the month by fans and the ICC voting academy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Tuesday afternoon.

The monthly awards recognise and celebrate the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.

"After what seemed like a really long and painful gap, I was delighted to be playing for India again. I used the time away to work on my fitness and skill and I am happy to be back taking wickets for my country. I would like to thank each and every person who helped me in this journey starting from my family and friends and my teammates. Also, a special thank you to the ICC voting academy and all the fans who voted for me and made me the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March," said Bhuvneshwar.

Commenting on Kumar’s performance in March, former India player VVS Laxman representing the ICC Voting Academy said: “Bhuvi missed nearly a year and a half of international cricket through multiple unrelated injuries, but you’d never have guessed. He was outstanding in both the PowerPlay overs and at the death in the white-ball formats against a powerful, aggressive England batting line-up. Economical and penetrative, he was instrumental in shaping Indian triumphs in both series.”

South Africa's Lizelle Lee, who played four ODIs against India where she scored a century and two half-centuries to move to the top of the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for March 2021.