Monday, May 20

Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj Nominated For ICC Men’s Player Of September

Edited by Meenu Mathew

Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj are on a head-to-head clash as both of the incredible India players are nominated for the ICC Men’s Player for September 2023 after their unpredictable and phenomenal performances in the Asia Cup. “Two India stars and a consistent England batter have made shortlisted” for the award, announced the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.

In the final match of recently concluded Asia Cup, Mohammed Siraj demolished Sri Lanka by thrashing the wicket door one after another, while the Indian openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan wrapped up the contest in just 6.1 overs defeating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets.

Gill is the leading run-getter in ODIs this year with 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03. In his last four ODIs, he has hit two centuries and a half-century.  ICC addressed him “the rising star of Indian cricket” and admired his talent of hoarding 480 ODI runs at an average of 80.

He scored two fanciful half-centuries and a mind-blowing century against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. He continues the spectacular form into the ODI series against Australia. Gill, who plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League and Punjab in the domestic cricket, hit an excellent 74 in the ODI opening match at Mohali and improved the performance to “triple figures” in the next game held at Indore, making 104, noted the ICC.

Siraj made a remarkable jump in the latest ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers, securing the number one position after winning the 2023 Asia Cup finals. The right-arm fast bowler kept a spell-bound form in September but his match winning six-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final. He collected 6/21 and rose to the key role in supporting the team to claim the prestigious Asia Cup trophy. He secured a total of 11 wickets in September at an average of just 17.27. He plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and Hyderabad in domestic cricket.

The third player who won a nomination from the ICC is England’s top-order batter Dawid Malan, who already claimed the player of the series award for his performance during England’s ODI series with New Zealand. He earned a strike rate of 105.72 overall during the series.\