Bhubaneswar and Rajeshwari Gaikwad nominated for ICC Player of the Month
Dubai: India's experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named among the cricketers nominated for the ICC (International Cricket Council) 'Best Player of the Month Award' after a brilliant performance in limited-overs matches against England. The ICC on Thursday nominated both male and female cricketers for their best performances in all formats of international cricket. Apart from Bhubaneswar, other players in the men's category include Afghanistan's top leg-spinner Rashid Khan and Zimbabwean Sean Williams.
The women's section includes Rajeshwari Gaekwad of India, Lizle Lee of South Africa and Poonam Raut of India. Last month, Bhuvneshwar played three ODIs against England in which he took six wickets at an economy rate of 4.65. He also played five T20 Internationals against England in which he picked up four wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.38. He was the best bowler in both teams in the white ball series played between India and England.
Rashid picked up 11 wickets during his team's win in the second Test against Zimbabwe and then also picked up six wickets in a 3–0 win in T20 Internationals. Williams, from Zimbabwe, played two Tests against Afghanistan in which he scored a total of 264 runs and took two wickets. He also played three T20 internationals after which he scored 45 runs at a strike rate of 128.57. In women's cricket, Rajeshwari played five ODIs against South Africa and was the team's highest wicket-taker in both white ball series.
He took eight wickets in ODIs and four wickets in T20s. Poonam Raut scored a total of 263 runs in five ODIs against South Africa. She was India's top run scorer in the series, scoring one century and two half-centuries in these matches. Lizle Lee scored one century and two half-centuries in the four ODIs in the South Africa squad, which led her to the top of the ICC batting rankings. Three of the three players in each category have been nominated this month (from the first to the last day of each calendar month) based on their on-field performance and their achievements.
