Had there been no Rishabh Pant and his calculated and fearless innings of 89 against Australia at Gabba in Brisbane last month, India would not have retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy by defeating Australia 2-1 in the four-match test series . It was practically impossible for India to win the final test match and the series with most of the teams' key players injured.
So, it was not a surprise when the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman won the inaugural edition of the ICC Men’s Player of The Month, January 2021. Besides his knock of 89 runs in the final test match, the Indian cricket scored a spectacular knock of 97 runs in the third test match in Sydney. Pant's knock, followed by the perseverance showed by Ashwin and Vihari, allowed India to draw the third test.
According to india.com, Pant was elated to receive the first edition of ICC Player of the month. In a media release by ICC, Pant stated, "For any sportsperson, contributing to a team win is the ultimate reward but such initiatives help motivate youngsters such as myself to do better each time." He dedicated his award to every member of the team. he believes that it was a joint effort to win against Australia in such difficult conditions. The 23-year-old cricketer also extended his gratitude to his fans for voting him for this award.
The ICC Player of the month is decided over a process of voting. On the last day of each calendar month, three cricketers are nominated for each category. The nomination is based on the on-field performances of the cricketers. The players are then voted by an independent ICC voting academy and fans all over the world. Former players and other prominent members of the cricket fraternity including senior journalists, broadcasters and some members of the ICC Hall of Fame constitute the ICC voting academy.  
Shabnim Ismail, the South African medium pacer, has won the ICC Women’s Player of The Month for January 2021 for her extraordinary  performance against Pakistan in their ODI and T20 home series.
Currently, Pant is playing as a wicket-keeper batsman for India in the first test match England. He has scored 91 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, Pant managed to score 11 runs. England has given a challenging target of 420 runs before India. At present, the final day of the game is going on.