India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were on Tuesday named the ICC men’s and women’s Player of the Month for June, respectively. Bumrah was one of the architects of India’s T20 World Cup triumph while Mandhana’s exceptional run with the bat helped India hand a humiliating whitewash to the South African eves in the ODI series and the subsequent one-off Test.
Bumrah edged out compatriot Rohit Sharma and Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz for the award in what was a competitive month of cricket, culminating in India’s T20 World Cup win in Barbados.
The 30-year-old was at his dependable best in the USA and Caribbean, taking 15 wickets at an average of 8.26, at an astonishing economy of 4.17. He joined Virat Kohli (a two-time winner in his own right) as India players to claim the Men’s T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament award.
Beginning the T20 World Cup campaign in New York, Bumrah was ever-reliable for India, taking 3/6 against Ireland to open his campaign, before his match-defining 3/14 against Pakistan four days later. While wicketless against the USA in their third outing, Bumrah again showed his class in the Super Eights portion of the competition, taking a total of six wickets in three outings.
From there, the right-armer claimed 2/12 (2.4) in India’s semi-final win over England, before closing out with a 2/18 (4) performance against South Africa in the final in Barbados to claim the Player of the Tournament honours.
Upon receiving the award, Bumrah paid tribute to his family and the other two nominees. “I am delighted to be named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June. It’s a special honour for me following a memorable few weeks spent in the USA and West Indies. We have had a lot to celebrate as a team, and I’m delighted to be able to add this personal accolade to the list.”
“To perform as well as we did at the tournament and lift the trophy at the end is incredibly special, and I will carry those memories with me forever. I wish to congratulate my captain Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for their excellent performances in the same period, and I am humbled to have been chosen as the winner.”
“Finally, I want to thank my family, all of my teammates and coaches as well as the fans who have voted for me. Their support pushes me to compete at the best of my ability in national colours,” he added.
Happy to contribute to India’s wins: Smriti
Smriti, who was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award for June, beat England’s Maia Bouchier and Sri Lanka’s Vishmi Gunaratne for the accolade, the first of such in her international career.
Regarded as one of the best top-order players in the world, the 27-year-old cemented her reputation with an exceptional run across India’s clean sweep ODI series win over South Africa in Bengaluru, before a stellar Test match in Chennai against the same opponent.
Almost unstoppable with blade in hand, the left-hander made centuries in the first two ODIs, compiling 113 and 136, before another score of 90 in match three.
After her efforts against the white ball, Mandhana turned her attention to the red-ball game, setting up India’s Test victory over the Proteas alongside fellow opener Shafali Verma. The pair put on 292 for the first wicket in India’s innings, with Mandhana finishing with 149 from just 161 deliveries as the hosts piled on 603/6 declared in the first innings.
Despite some Proteas resistance, the hosts went on to claim the Test match during the third session of day four, eventually winning by 10 wickets.
Upon receiving the award, Mandhana discussed her desire to continue in the same vein, contributing to team success. “I’m glad to be named ICC Women’s Player of the Month for the month of June. I’m really happy with the way I think the team has performed and I’m happy to contribute for us, winning the ODI and the Test series.”
“Hopefully we can continue our form, and I can even further contribute to win matches for India,” she said.