ICC Player of the Month: Axar, Rizwan get nominated
ICC has announced the nominees for men's and women's Player of the Month for September 2022. Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan's sensational run in T20Is earned him a nomination in the men's section. He'll fight with India's Axar Patel and Australia's Cameron Green for the award. India duo of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Bangladesh's Nigar Sultana will tussle for the honor in the women's category.
Why does this story matter?
The Player-of-the-Month award is given to the male and female cricketers with superlative performances in international cricket in a particular month. Three nominations are announced for both categories. The International Cricket Council has been distributing this award since the start of 2021. The voting panel features renowned journalists and former cricketers. Public has 10% of the stakes in voting.
Rizwan has dazzled for PAK
The top-ranked T20I batter, Rizwan has been scoring runs for fun lately. The Pakistan wicket-keeper slammed 553 runs in 10 T20Is last month with his average being just under 70. He mustered as many as seven fifty-plus scores in this period with his highest score being 88 not out against England. Moreover, he has also been clinical behind the stumps.
Cameron Green's sensational start to T20I career
Green's stellar show recently saw fans and experts batting for his inclusion in Australia's T20 World Cup squad. He slammed a match-winning 89 in an ODI against New Zealand after, rescuing Aussies from 44/5 in a 233-run chase. Opening the batting, he also scored two T20I half-centuries against India with 200+ strike rate. He was handy with his medium-pace bowling as well.
Axar Patel doing the job in Jadeja's absence
With India's bowling woes made headlines recently, Axar Patel was a shining light. The left-arm spinner did a tremendous job in injured Ravindra Jadeja's absence, taking nine wickets in 5 T20Is. He bowled at an economy rate of 5.72, thus being instrumental in India's series triumph against Australia and South Africa. Axar didn't get many opportunities with the bat in hand.
Harmanpreet, Mandhana star in India's historic triumph
The duo guided India Women to their maiden ODI series triumph in England since 1999. Skipper Harmanpreet finished as the highest run-getter of the series with 221 runs. Mandhana made a significant mark in both T20I and ODI series against England, scoring 111 and 181 respectively. Skipper Nigar was instrumental in Bangladesh's Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier triumph, scoring 180 runs in five games.
