Pakistan's Asif Ali and Ireland's Laura Delany voted ICC Players of Month

Ali beat Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Namibia's David Wiese to the men's award, and Delany prevailed over teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe's Mary-Anne Musonda for the women's prize.

Asif Ali blasted four sixes against Afghanistan to take Pakistan to a win in the T20 World Cup. (File image)

Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Ireland all-rounder Laura Delany were on Tuesday named the ICC male and female players of the month for October.

Ali beat Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Namibia's David Wiese to the men's award, and Delany prevailed over teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe's Mary-Anne Musonda for the women's prize.

Ali scored 52 runs without defeat across three matches for Pakistan in October at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scoring at a strike rate of 273.68.

He first grabbed headlines at the tournament by blasting 27 not out from 12 balls to help Pakistan beat New Zealand, but it was what he did in the next game that made him the talk of the town. With Pakistan needing 24 runs off the final two overs against Afghanistan, Ali hit four sixes in the 19th over to lead his side to victory.

Commenting on Ali’s performance, ICC Voting Academy member Irfan Pathan said: “Helping your team to win, especially from the jaws of defeat is what makes Asif Ali special. And he did that not just once but twice.

"Although he scored considerably less than other two nominated players, the contribution he made and the pressure situations from where he snatched the victories made all the difference.” Ireland captain Delany shone in the team's 3-1 ODI series win over Zimbabwe. The all-rounder flourished with bat and ball, scoring 189 runs at 63, and taking four wickets at 27.

Commenting on Delany’s performance, ICC Voting Academy member Lisa Sthalekar said: “Laura has been playing international cricket for over a decade and has the difficult task of captaining her country, which carries a great weight of expectation.

"I have been following her career ... watched her development. This recent series was a breakout series for her as she was able to register her highest ODI score and is a worthy recipient of the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October.”