The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday revealed the nominations for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards following an action-packed month of cricket in September with two Indian stars Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill featuring among the six players.
The three-person ICC Men’s Player of the Month shortlist features one of England’s prolific short-format batters and an Indian duo that were instrumental in their trophy-winning Asia Cup campaign last month.
Mohammed Siraj enjoyed a return to the top of the ICC Men’s ODI rankings for bowlers in late September, and was the chief architect of India’s success in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The pacer took 11 wickets in total across six ODIs, but his month will be remembered for the memorable way in which he tore into the defending champions Sri Lanka, bowling them out for 50 runs, taking six wickets for 21 which included a four-wicket over.
Joining Siraj on the shortlist is Gill, hoping to win his second Player of the Month prize after his run-scoring heroics in the Asia Cup continued into the subsequent ODI series against Australia.
The 24-year-old Gill registered 480 runs at an average of 80 in his eight ODIs in September, with notable highlights including a stylish century against Bangladesh in Colombo, and 74 and 104 in back-to-back games against Australia.
England’s Dawid Malan completes the lineup, nominated for the first time after a superb showing in the series against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the shortlist for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award features a young South African duo that recorded an impressive T20I win in Pakistan, and Sri Lanka’s influential skipper, who led them to a historic T20I series victory in England.
Chamari Athapaththu gained her second Player of the Month nomination after her batting and bowling contributions inspired Sri Lanka’s first-ever series win on English soil.
Joining her among the contenders for September’s crown is fellow all-rounder, Nadine de Klerk, whose wickets and runs proved vital to South Africa’s ODI successes against Pakistan and New Zealand, and her compatriot Laura Wolvaardt, who again showed glimpses of her batting brilliance with runs in both T20I and ODI formats against the same opposition.
An independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world will now be invited to cast their votes to decide the winners, which will be announced next week.
