Two star Indians among Player of the Month award nominees for January

The Cricket Governing Body, on Tuesday, revealed the names shortlisted for the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for January 2023. The Player of the Month awards celebrates the players who were outstanding on the international level in January. Two star Indian cricketers and two prolific Australia batters were shortlisted in the category of men’s awards and women’s award respectively for the previous calendar month.

Phoebe Litchfield and Beth Mooney were the two Australian batters shortlisted in the nominees of Women’s Player of the Month. Litchfield made her ODI debut in January and was quick to make an impact on the international level. She scored back-to-back half-centuries during Australia’s recent series victory over Pakistan. Meanwhile, her opening partner Mooney also showed outstanding performance, scoring big runs including a century in the final ODI. Other than these two, England’s U19 captain Grace Scrivens also added to the list as she claimed the Player of the Tournament prize in the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj among Player of the Month award nominees for January

The Men’s Player of the Month shortlist features an Indian batting and bowling duo and a New Zealand century-maker in Test and ODI cricket. The rising young batter Shubman Gill who was brilliant in recent ODI series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand is the one Indian cricketer in the list as he has scored two centuries and one double-century. He scored 567 ODI runs during January at an average of 113.40. His best outing in the period was a 208 not out in the series opener against New Zealand in Hyderabad, coming in just 149 balls with 28 boundaries.

India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj reached the summit for bowlers in January following his back-to-back four-wicket hauls against the same opposition. He played in five ODIs during January, against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, taking 14 wickets at an average of 10.57. New Zealand opener Devon Conway who scored a Test century in Pakistan and registered a ton against India in the recent ODI was also shortlisted for the award.