ICC announces contenders for September players of the month in Men’s and Women’s cricket

Sports Desk: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday revealed the latest crop of international stars shortlisted for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards following an action-packed month of cricket in September.

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 final with a remarkable bowling display Joining him on the shortlist is Shubman 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. England’s Dawid Malan completes the lineup, nominated for the first time after a superb showing in the series against New Zealand.

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 gains 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.