The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the nominees for the Player of the Month and all the three players are from Asia, including one from Bangladesh and two from Sri Lanka.
Mushfiqur Rahim is the Bangladeshi player to be nominated for the award. Although Bangladesh lost the series against Sri Lanka, the wicketkeeper batsman scored 303 runs in the series. He hit two centuries in the series and also became the first Bangladesh player to reach 5000 runs in the Test format.
The two Sri Lankan players nominated for the ICC Player of the Month award are Angelo Mathews and Asitha Fernando. Mathews smashed two centuries in the series against Bangladesh and finished as the highest run-scorer with 344 runs. Fernando, meanwhile, finished as the highest wicket-taker in the same series.
The ICC has also revealed the names of the female cricketers who have been nominated for the award. Pakistan’s Tuba Hassan, who was her side's highest wicket-taker in her debut series against Sri Lanka, has been nominated alongside teammate Bismah Maroof. The Pakistan skipper finished as the highest run-scorer for her side against Sri Lanka in the T20Is.
Jersey’s Trinity Smith is the relatively unknown name in the list of nominees. The 17-year-old all-rounder, who made her debut against France in a quadrangular series last month, picked up a wicket on debut and also scored two half centuries. Overall in the series, Smith scored 120 runs at a strike rate of 136.36 and also picked four wickets at an economy of 6.58.
