India cricket team all-rounder Washington Sundar is a frontrunner for the ICC Player of the Month award after his outstanding performance against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. After being in and out of the side in the shortest format of the game owing to form and injury, Sundar made his presence felt by leading India’s spin attack in both the series. Other nominees for the award include England’s Gus Atkinson and Scotland’s Charlie Cassell.
In the women’s division, India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma are among the two out of three contenders for the award. Both batters have been impressive with the bat in both Tests and T20Is, making themselves strong contenders for the award apart from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu.
How Washington Sundar emerged as front runner for award
After being snubbed in India’s T20 World Cup squad, Washington Sundar made most of the opportunity in the series against Zimbabwe. He took six wickets in four matches, including a Player of the Match winning performance in the 3rd T20I. He finished the series on a high note by winning the Player of the Series for having the joint-most wickets in the tour – eight.
Against Sri Lanka, Sundar’s heroics with both bat and ball ensured a nail-biting victory in the Super Over for India in IND vs SL 3rd T20I by bagging two wickets and conceding just 2 runs.
Meanwhile, Gus Atinkson made the most of his England debut at the Lord’s against the West Indies as he picked up a 10-wicket haul in his very first Test. With spells of 7/45 and 5/61, the fiery pacer made a mark in his very first appearance, rattling the West Indies batters.
He went on to bag 10 more wickets in the remaining fixtures of the series, filling in the void left by James Anderson. At the end of the ENG vs WI series, Atkinson had 22 wickets to his name and earned the Player of the Series award.
Scotland’s Charlie Cassell had an impressive ODI debut as well, picking up a 7-wicket haul in his very first game against Oman.
Runs galore for Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma
Smriti Mandhanna kicked off July with a 149-run knock against South Africa in the one-off Test. Next, she went on to amass 100 runs in two innings against South Africa in the T20I series. Her fine form continued in the Asia Cup where she emerged as the top run-scorer for India in the tournament with 173 runs to her name.
On the other hand, Mandhana’s opening partner Shafali Varma has enjoyeed huge success with the bat in July. The swashbuckiling batter has amassed 229 Test runs and 245 T20I runs in the period of just one month. Her antics include a double hundred in the Test against SA, becoming the second Indian to do so after Mithali Raj. She was also the second highest run-getter in the recently concluded Asia Cup.
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