With the wicket of Australia’s Ashton Turner, Shakib Al Hasan became the only player in T20I history to take 100 wickets and score more than 1000 runs. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga is the only other player to achieve the 100-wicket mark in T20Is, with 107 wickets in 84 games. Shakib achieved the feat in his 84th T20I, but he was exceptional in that he had also scored 171 runs.
After Bangladesh completed a series sweep across formats away to Zimbabwe last month and followed it up with their first-ever bilateral series win against Australia this month, Shakib Al Hasan reclaimed the top spot in the ICC T20I all-rounder rankings and was also voted the ICC player of the month for July.
Shakib was named player-of-the-month after his outstanding performance in the Zimbabwe series last month, and his heroics in the five-match T20I series against Australia this month saw him recover the top all-rounder place in T20Is for the first time since October 2017.
Shakib was cited in an ICC press release as stating in response to the player-of-the-month award: “Being named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for July 2021 is humbling. Throughout the month, there have been many amazing performances, which is why this is so significant to me. I get the most joy and satisfaction from contributing to victories, therefore I am delighted to have assisted in Bangla.
Shakib, who was ranked second in the T20I all-rounder rankings with 241 rating points prior to Bangladesh’s series against Australia, has surpassed Mohammad Nabi to take over the top slot.
Shakib is still in first place with 286 rating points, while Nabi is in second place with 285 points. The 34-year-old Bangladesh all-rounder has moved up three spots in the batters’ rankings to 53rd, and six spots in the bowlers’ rankings to 12th.
Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladesh’s T20I captain, has moved up two places to 33rd place. Shakib was named player-of-the-series against Australia after hitting 114 runs at an average of 22.80, the highest by a Bangladeshi in the series, and taking seven wickets in five games.
Shakib also set a series record by being the first cricketer to attain the milestones of 100 wickets and 1000 runs in T20Is. He also became the first Bangladeshi and just the second player in T20I history to achieve the 100-wicket mark.
In the meanwhile, Mustafizur was rewarded for his outstanding bowling performance in the Australia series, as the left-armer ended with seven wickets from five games with an economy rate of 3.52, the lowest of the two teams’ bowlers.
