Interestingly, all the three nominations for the Men’s category are spinners.
After a busy month of January for cricket players and fans apiece, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the list of players (men and women) in contention for the Player of the Month award across all formats.
Two players from India and West Indies each have made it to the list. Interestingly, all the three nominations for the Men’s category are spinners.
During Pakistan’s home Tests against the mighty West Indies, Noman Ali outperformed with 16 wickets in two games. The left-arm bowler took a five-wicket haul in the first match and outshined with 10 wickets in the second match. His figures of 6/41 in the first innings of the second Test include a stunning hattrick – the first by a Pakistan spinner in Test cricket. Noman won his maiden ICC Men’s Player of the Month in October 2024.
When we talk about the recent bilateral series held in Multan, Jomel Warrican’s purple patch is unignorable. He marked his return to Test cricket with a mammoth 19 wickets. Also a left-arm spinner, Warrican took 10 wickets in the first match which included a career-best spell of 7/32. He continued to rattle the hosts with nine wickets in the second match. His contributions with the bat were also noteworthy.
Alongside the top guns of Indian cricket, Varun Chakaravarthy is the most-talked-about spinner at the moment. The leg-break googly bowler enjoyed a lethal run over the English batters in the five-match T20I series. He bagged 14 wickets at a commendable average of 9.41 which included a five-wicket haul at Rajkot. Considering his perilous impact, Chakaravarthy was included in the ODI squad as well for the bilateral series. As per the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, if Chakaravarthy grabs his next opportunity with both hands, he may be in contention for the Champions Trophy 2025 squad too.
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Australia’s domination of 7-0 in the Women’s Ashes would be incomplete without the ever-present Beth Mooney. The wicketkeeper-batter got off to a slow start in the first two ODIs. She scored a half-century in the third match and took off from there. She amassed 213 runs in T20Is which includes two half-centuries and an unbeaten 94. The concluding Test match saw Mooney rise from the ashes for the second Test ton of her career. This is Mooney’s second nomination after January 2024.
Owing to her success in the ODI home series against Bangladesh, Karishma Ramharack has earned her maiden nomination for the Player of the Month award. The right-arm off-break bowler recorded back-to-back four-wicket hauls in the second and third matches of the series. She was named Player of the Match in the third match and Player of the Series. Her bundle of wickets came at a decent average of 10.25 and an unbelievably low economy of 3.30.
Another Indian player who hit the headline is Gongadi Trisha for her marvellous performance with the bat. She played a major role in India’s success in the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. In the January contests, the wicketkeeper batter collected 265 runs and four wickets. The 19-year-old’s century of 110 not out against Scotland is the only century in the history of the tournament since its inception in 2023. Gongadi’s inspired campaign earned him the Player of the Series award and a maiden nomination in this list.
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