The International Cricket Council announced the three finalists for the ICC Player of the Month for May 2022. The veteran batter from Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim, is one of the nominees for the coveted individual award. Sri Lankans Angelo Mathews and Asitha Fernando are the other two candidates. All three candidates had a great outing in the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Test series 2022 in the month of May. Let's take a look at how these players performed in the month of May. ICC Player of the Month for May 2022: Who has a Strong Chance of Winning the Award? Nominated players - Mushfiqur Rahim, Angelo Mathews and Asitha Fernando all had significant contributions to their respective teams in the recently concluded Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Test series 2022. Mushfiqur Rahim was the top performer for Bangladesh, while Angelo Mathews and Asitha Fernando played key roles in winning the series for Sri Lanka. Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) Test: 2 | Runs: 303 | Ave: 151.50 | HS: 175* | 100s: 2 Mushfiqur Rahim made two centuries in the month of May during the Test series against Sri Lanka. Rahim completed his 5,000 Test runs during the first Test in Chattogram, becoming the first Bangladesh player to do so. He also made a hundred (105) and a 165-run partnership with Litton Das in the first innings of the first Test. Their effort helped the hosts to take a good first innings lead over the visitors. Read Shakib Al Hasan's Captaincy Record in Test Cricket: An Overview Mushfiqur also played an unbeaten 175*-run innings in the first innings of the second Test and, more importantly, his record-breaking 272-run stand with Litton Das for the sixth wicket helped Bangladesh to make a strong comeback in the first innings. Bangladesh lost the series 1-0 to Sri Lanka, so Mushfiqur's chance of winning the award is slimmer than the other two nominees because of that. Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) Test: 2 | Runs: 344 | Ave: 172.00 | HS: 199 | 100s: 2 Angelo Mathews had a magnificent Test series against Bangladesh last month. He played a brilliant 199-run knock in the first innings of the first Test, which helped Sri Lanka put up a commendable total. However, Mathews's contribution in the second Test is even better. His 199-run partnership with Dinesh Chandimal on the sixth wicket helped Sri Lanka to take more than a 100-run lead over Bangladesh in the first innings of the series-decider match. Mathews was unbeaten with 145* runs. Sri Lanka went on to win the match by 10 wickets. Read ENG vs NZ First Test 2022: England Seize Control of Series Opening Match The experienced Angelo Mathews was the heart of the Lankan batting line-up in the Bangladesh series, and it was thanks to his contributions with the bat that they were able to defeat the hosts. Therefore, Mathews is the big favourite to win the award. Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka) Test: 2 | Wkts: 13 | Ave: 16.61 | BBI: 6/51 | 5W: 1 Asitha Fernando stunned everyone by showing discipline and an effective bowling performance against Bangladesh in the Test series. Fernando had shown his talent by picking up three wickets in the first match, but it was his performance in the second Test that caught the eyes of everyone. Read Joe Root Reaches 10,000 Runs Milestone as England win First Test Against New Zealand In the first innings of the second match, Asitha and Kasun dismantled Bangladesh's batting order by picking up 9 wickets between them, with Asitha taking four of them. Asitha was even more destructive in the second innings, picking up 6 wickets and helping his team bowl Bangladesh out for only 169 runs. The target was only 29 for the Lankans, which they comfortably chased down without losing a wicket. Asitha Fernando is a strong contender for the award. Verdict The three players nominated for the ICC Player of the Month for May 2022 are all deserving candidates. Angelo Mathews, who was the most impactful player in the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka series, seems to have a better chance of winning it. Mathews was the winner of the Player of the Series award, which may give him an edge over other nominees. Asitha Fernando, who was the most troublesome bowler for Bangladesh's batting line-up, also has a strong chance to win the award. Mushfiqur Rahim was Bangladesh's best player during the Sri Lanka series. It won't come as a surprise if Mushfiqur outbids the other two for this honor.  Read Tamim, Siddons among group off to West Indies tonight

Cricket's highest governing body, ICC has been honouring the 'Best Player of the Month' since 2021. In continuation of this, Bangladesh's Mr. dependable batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has been nominated for the Award for the month of May. Mushfiqur was awarded Man of the Series for his great performance against Sri Lanka in the last bilateral series. Thanks to this he has earned a place on the month's top players list. The other two nominees are Pakistan's Hasan Ali and Praveen Jayawickrama of Sri Lanka. This article discusses who is going to finally bag the 'ICC Player of the Month' Award for May.    The front-runner for the ICC's Player of the month for May award Nominees Mushfiqur Rahim, Hasan Ali, and Praveen Jayawickrama each played well for their respective countries in May. So they are worthy contenders for this award. Let's take a look at how they performed. Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) Test: 2 | Runs: 148 | Ave: 74.00 | HS: 68* | 100s: 0 ODI: 3 | Runs: 237 | Ave: 79.00 | HS: 125 | 100s: 1 Source: ESPNCricinfo Mushfiqur Rahim was outstanding in the first two matches of the Sri Lanka series, and he was instrumental in Bangladesh's 2-1 ODI series victory. Thanks to his prudent batting, Bangladesh won the bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka for the first time with a game in hand. Mushfiqur shared a 109-run partnership with veteran Mahmudullah Riyad after the Tigers lost four wickets for 99 runs in the first match of the series. As a result, Bangladesh were able to put up a challenging 256-run on board to defend. The hosts eventually won the match by 33 runs. Mushfiqur turned even more destructive in the second match. He batted aggressively for 125 runs, helping Bangladesh in putting up a fighting score. Bangladesh secured the series victory by winning the rain-affected match by 103 runs (D/L method). He also played well in the Test series against the Lankans. That's why the best middle-order batsman of Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim is the favourite to win the best player of the May award. Read Three defeats in a row: Mohammedan’s struggle continues Praveen Jayawickrama (Sri Lanka) Test: 1 | Wkts: 11 | Ave: 16.18 | BBI: 6/92 | 5W: 2 Source: ESPNCricinfo Sri Lanka's Praveen Jayawickrama guided his country to a 1-0 series win grabbing 11 wickets in the second and final Test against Bangladesh. Bangladesh's batters had failed to deal with his spinning bowling. Bangladesh went down by a massive margin of 209 runs in the series-deciding match. This rising Lankan spinner is one of the leading contenders for May's ICC best player award of the month.    Hasan Ali (Pakistan) Test: 2 | Wkts: 14 | Ave: 8.92 | BBI: 5/27 | 5W: 2 Source: ESPNCricinfo Pace bowling all-rounder, Hasan Ali was instrumental in Pakistan's 2-0 Test series victory over Zimbabwe. Hasan Ali has been in excellent form since returning from injury. He has taken 14 wickets in two encounters against Zimbabwe. The host batters were unable to do well in both Tests because of his precise bowling. Zimbabwe lost to Pakistan by an innings and 118 runs in the first Test and by an innings and 148 runs in the second Test. So it will not be a surprise if Hasan Ali is named the best player for May. Read International Fixtures Which Could Help Bangladesh's T20 World Cup Preparation  Verdict Mushfiqur Rahim is the leading contender for the ICC’s Player of the Month for May award. Bangladesh won the first two matches and the bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim's outstanding performance. On the other hand, Pakistan's Hasan Ali played a key role in winning the Test series against Zimbabwe and Praveen Jayawickrama played well for the Lankans against Bangladesh. While earning a name on the top list is a great honour, we would expect the ICC to choose the best athlete for the award.