DUBAI: As India stormed their way into the ICC T20 World Cup quarterfinals, which are now taking place in Australia, Virat Kohli won his first ICC Player of the Month title for October 2022.

Following a global poll among media representatives, members of the ICC Hall of Fame, former international players, and fans registered at icc-cricket.com, Kohli was chosen as the winner.

The dynamic Indian batter won the prize after being nominated for the first time, beating out a strong field that featured David Miller of South Africa and Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, who was in fine form and both of them made significant contributions at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

With the bat, Kohli scored 205 runs, demonstrating all of his batting prowess throughout the previous month. He also produced an amazing innings in the thrilling triumph over Pakistan in front of a packed house at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to start their Super 12 campaign in the T20 World Cup on October 23. He also scored a superb half-century against the Netherlands in Sydney.

Coming in at 31/4, the former India captain demonstrated his domination over the opposition's bowlers in a famous act of restrained aggressiveness. Thanks to his unbroken 82 from 53 balls, he eventually guided his team to successfully chase down the 160 target on the penultimate ball.

Being selected as the standout player by fans around the world as well as the panel makes this award much more important for me, said Kohli, who added that it is a huge honour for him to have been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for October.

Daren Ganga, a former West Indies player and member of the ICC Player of the Month voting panel, said of Kohli: "He displayed immense character to overcome a lean period with the bat. October saw him score an unbeaten 49 against South Africa followed by two half centuries at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Kohli is the quintessential batter.

"That magnificent inning against Pakistan will go down as one of the greatest T20I innings ever. I witnessed that in person at the MCG, and delivering in that manner is only a luxury experienced by the greatest players in this wonderful game, he said.

In recognition of her outstanding play during Pakistan's Women's Asia Cup campaign, all-rounder Nida Dar was named the ICC Women's Player of the Month. She scored 145 runs at an average of 72.50 and claimed eight wickets during the month.

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