Nepal’s opening batsman Kushal Bhurtel has been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month Awards for April along with the Pakistani duo Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman by the International Cricket Council.

The 25-year-old opener, who marked his debut during the Tri-Nation T20 Series from April 17 to 24 at the TU cricket ground in Kirtipur, stole the limelight scoring successive half centuries in his first three matches. He crossed the half-century milestone in four innings among the five matches of the tournament.

He played a key role in Nepal’s first ever shortest format cricket title after they thumped the Netherlands in the final. He scored a total of 278 runs in the five innings of the tournament facing 198 balls.

Pakistan’s Azam and Zaman played influential roles during their One Day International and Twenty20 Series against South Africa in April.

According to the international cricket governing body, the nominees were picked on Wednesday based on their on-field performances and overall achievements during the month.

The winners will be declared on the basis of voting by an Independent ICC Voting Academy and cricket fans at the ICC website. While the Academy will have 90 percent weightage, fans’ vote will have a 10 percent stake.