New Delhi: Flamboyant Indian cricketer Abhishek Sharma and star spinner Kuldeep Yadav have been nominated in the men’s category for the ICC Player of the month award for September while in the women’s category, Smriti Mandhana has received the nominee.
The three Indian cricketers have dominated this month’s nomination on basis of their fabulous performance on the cricket fields in respective games. Left-handed T20 specialist Abhishek was in a blistering form in the recently-concluded Asia Cup being named the Player of the tournament for his 314 runs in seven T20I matches.
His overall score included three half-centuries with a staggering strike rate of 200 plus as the southpaw delivered a standout performance in all the game except the final match. Additionally, he also reached the highest batting rating ever recorded in men’s T20I history with 931 points shattering all the records.
Meanwhile wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also enjoyed a dream run in the marquee event in which India beat arch-rivals Pakistan thrice. Kuldeep was magical with the ball claiming as many as 17 wickets at an economy rate of 6.27. The spin bowler started off the Asia Cup campaign with figures of 4/7 against he UAE, which were his best figures and finished with figures of 4/30 in the summit clash against Men in Green.
Mandhana nominated in women’s section
Star Indian women’s batter Smriti Mandhana, who won the Player of the Series award against Australia in the closely-contested three-game ODI series has also been nominated for the ‘ICC Player of the Month’ in the women’s section. The flamboyant batter scored 308 runs in the four matches at an average of 77 and a strike rate of more than 135.
Meanwhile, Pakistan opener Sidra Amin and South Africa’s Tazmin Brits are the other two nominees for the award. Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett is the third men’s cricketer nominated for the award for his exceptional batting. He scored 497 runs in nine T20Is at an average of 55.22 and a strike rate of 165.66.
(With PTI inputs)