Bhuvneshwar wins ICC Player of the Month award for exploits against England
Dubai: Experienced India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday won the ICC Player of the Month award for his superlative show in the limited overs series against England in March.
The 31-year-old Indian took six wickets at an economy rate of 4.65 in the three ODIs, while capturing four wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 6.38 in the five T20Is to emerge as the standout bowler on either side in the white ball series.
"After what seemed like a really long and painful gap, I was delighted to be playing for India again. I used the time away to work on my fitness and skill and I am happy to be back taking wickets for my country," Bhuvneshwar said in an ICC release.
Bhuvneshwar became the third successive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year.
The January honours were claimed by dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for his exploits in Australia, while veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin won it for the month of February following a stupendous all-round show in the home Test series against England.
"I would like to thank each and every person who helped me in this journey starting from my family and friends and my teammates. Also, a special thank you to the ICC voting academy and all the fans who voted for me and made me the ICC Men's Player of the Month for March," Bhuvneshwar said.
Besides Bhuvneshwar, ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and Zimbabwe's Sean Williams were also nominated in the men's category.
Former India batsman VVS Laxman, representing the ICC Voting Academy, said: "Bhuvi missed nearly a year and a half of international cricket through multiple unrelated injuries, but you'd never have guessed.
"He was outstanding in both the PowerPlay overs and at the death in the white-ball formats against a powerful, aggressive England batting line-up. Economical and penetrative, he was instrumental in shaping Indian triumphs in both series."
South African Lizelle Lee, who played four ODIs against India where she scored a century and two half-centuries to move to the top of Women's ODI batting rankings, was named the ICC Women's Player of the Month for March.
"I am happy and honoured to receive this award. Such accolades are a great way to keep me motivated and to continue to work even harder on my game. A big thank you to my teammates for their support as this would never have been possible without them," Lee said.
Commenting on Lee's performance in March, Ramiz Raja, representing the ICC Voting Academy, said: "It is not easy scoring those many runs in alien batting conditions. It is always a challenge to adjust from bouncy pitches to slow low turning tracks and Lizelle did magnificently."
The nominees among the women's also comprised THE Indian duo of Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Punam Raut.
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JioHotstar to invest Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian content push; unveils 25-title slate
Chennai (PTI): Streaming service JioHotstar on Tuesday announced that it will invest Rs 4,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen South India’s creative economy, unveiling a 25-title slate as part of a major push for regional content.
In one of the biggest announcements by an Indian streaming platform for the southern markets, the company showcased its “South Unbound” vision at a high-profile event here.
Sushant Sreeram, Head – SVOD Business & Chief Marketing Officer at JioStar, said the investment forms part of a broader collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government.
“Earlier today, JioHotstar formalised a Letter of Intent with the Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of the Chief Minister M K Stalin. This outlines a shared commitment to invest in talent, expand infrastructure and build a future-ready creative economy from the South.
"As part of this vision, JioHotstar will invest Rs 4,000 crore to nurture creators, strengthen the production ecosystem and build a pipeline of stories that are ready for India and ready for the world,” he said.
Calling South India the “heartbeat of Indian storytelling”, Sreeram said the investment signalled the platform’s long-term commitment to local creators.
"JioHotstar started as a dream — to build entertainment rooted in India’s storytelling heritage and powered by cutting-edge technology. The resplendent storytelling traditions of the South motivate us to keep championing authentic, rooted narratives while offering greater accessibility and choices for every viewer," he said.
The event was attended by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, veteran actor and MP Kamal Haasan, senior state officials, and leading stars and filmmakers from across the southern industries.
Deputy CM Stalin said the partnership will generate “1,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs”.
“Cinema in Tamil Nadu has always been a force for social change. OTT is not replacing cinema; it is expanding it. Today, a filmmaker in Madurai or Salem can upload a story and reach audiences across the world. The cultural and economic impact of this partnership will be massive," he added.
aasan said Indian media and entertainment was undergoing a fundamental transformation driven not by technology alone, but by the audience itself.
“We gather at a moment when India’s media and entertainment is not merely growing, it is transforming. For the first time, this shift is not driven by device or format, but by the audience itself,” he said, adding that storytelling today is “screen agnostic”.
“Regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international. Stories born in Madurai, Malappuram or Machilipatnam are no longer regional cinema; they are national cultural events,” Haasan said, giving the example of movies such as “Kantara”, “Drishyam”, “Baahubali”, “Pushpa” and Tamil hits like “Vikram”.
The event was also attended by Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Aishwarya Rajesh and others -- along with directors Jeethu Joseph and Ahammed Khabeer
The streamer's ambitious content slate, unveiled as part of its “South Unbound” initiative, includes sequels to blockbuster franchises, new long-format shows, films, adaptations, and high-engagement reality formats.
The Tamil slate features a mix of returning favourites and new originals, led by "Bigg Boss Tamil", now hosted by Vijay Sethupathi, and "Good Wife S2", the legal drama starring Priyamani.
The lineup also includes "LBW – Love Beyond Wicket", a relationship drama; the family comedy "Cousins and Kalyanams"; the psychological drama "Resort"; and "Heartbeat S3", which brings back Anumol, Karthik Kumar and Deepa Balu.
Other Tamil offerings include "Lingam", an action-drama; "Love Always", a multigenerational love story; the marquee title "Kaattaan" starring Vijay Sethupathi and Milind Soman; and "Second Love", a non-fiction relationship series.
In Telugu, the platform returns with "Bigg Boss Telugu" hosted by Nagarjuna, alongside new originals such as "Moodu Lantharlu" starring Aishwarya Rajesh; the police procedural "Vikram on Duty"; "Varam", a mystical relationship drama; and the hit comedy-drama "Save The Tigers S3" with Chaitanya Krishna.
The slate further includes "Vishakha", the Telugu adaptation of "Aarya" led by Kajal Aggarwal; the relationship-based non-fiction format "Mad for Each Other"; and the Telugu debut of the iconic adventure franchise "Roadies".
From Malayalam, the platform brings back "Bigg Boss Malayalam" hosted by Mohanlal; "Kerala Crime Files S3" featuring Aju Varghese; the mystery drama "Secret Stories: Roslin"; "Anali", "1000 Babies S2" with Neena Gupta and Rahman; and the hard-hitting drama "Pharma" starring Nivin Pauly.
The Kannada lineup includes "Bigg Boss Kannada" hosted by Kichcha Sudeepa; "Batchmates", a nostalgic friendship drama; and the food-and-humour-based non-fiction series "Comedy Cooks".
Across languages, the platform also announced new films such as "Lucky The Superstar", featuring GV Prakash, Anaswara Rajan and Meghna Sumesh, and "Kenatha Kaanom", positioned as broad-appeal mainstream entertainers.
