India men’s team captain Shubman Gill, openers Abhishek Sharma and Shafali Verma and spinner Shree Charani are among the nominees for the men’s and women’s ICC Player of the Month award for September.
Besides the Indian quartet, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza and Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu have also been named in the men’s and women’s shortlist respectively. The women’s shortlist recognises standout performances at the Asia Cup and the Asian Games. Athapaththu made an impact with both bat and ball, while Shafali excelled at the top of the order and finished as the leading run-scorer in the Women’s Asia Cup.
He struck 110 in the first ODI against the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram and then produced the fastest ODI double-century ever, his hurricane 223 coming off just 133 balls and helping his team chase down a mammoth 406-run target with eight wickets in hand and 39 balls to spare. Sharma’s knock against Afghanistan at the Ferozeshah Kotla was also the fastest century by any batter from an ICC Full-Member nation as the left-handed opener scored 108 off 34 balls in the third match of the series. Shafali, on the other hand, totalled 360 runs at a strike-rate of 184.61 and was the leading run-scorer in India’s successful campaign at the Asia Cup.
Gill is in line for his fifth ICC Player of the Month award.