ICC Players of the Month for February 2022 announced

Iyer enjoyed a remarkable month for his country, with the 27-year-old shining during white-ball series against West Indies and Sri Lanka to edge out UAE batter Vriitya Aravind and Nepal all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee for the monthly award.

Iyer contributed a match-winning 80 against West Indies in the final ODI, before following it up with a 16-ball 25 in the final T20I of the subsequent series.

But it was in the following T20 series against Sri Lanka that Iyer really caught the eye.

Promoted in the order to bat at number three, Iyer made three unbeaten half-centuries for the series and amassed an outstanding 204 runs from three hits at a strike rate of 174.

His efforts saw him top the run-scorer charts for the series and he was duly rewarded by a massive jump of 27 places to 18th on the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings.

Former Sri Lanka batter and voting panel member Russel Arnold was full of praise for Iyer.

"Throughout the month Shreya's showed tremendous consistency and control," Arnold said.

"He totally dominated opposition bowlers and proved very hard to bowl at, scoring runs all around the wicket and attacking the bowlers at the right moments.

"What really stood out for me was his composure as he battles for a regular place in the India line-up."

Kerr's exploits during February were just as impressive, with the young all-rounder dominating with bat and ball to claim the monthly gong ahead of India duo Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma.

Raj and Sharma saw Kerr in action close-up, as it was during the five-match ODI series against India in New Zealand that the 21-year-old shined.

Kerr helped herself to a century and a half-century and scored 353 runs at an average of 117 during that important warm-up series for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, but it wasn't just with the bat that she stood out.

She also picked up seven wickets with her underrated leg-spin, finishing joint leading wicket-taker for the series with sister Jess Kerr in what was a dominant individual performance.

"Amelia Kerr is growing into her role as a genuine all-rounder in the New Zealand team," ICC Voting Academy member Isobel Joyce said.

"She’s been a world-class leg spinner for a number of years, but now her batting adds even more value to her spot in the team and makes her one of the best cricketers in the world."