Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal was named among other players in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Player of the Month awards from November’s international contests.
Bangladesh left arm spinner Nahida Akter cele-brates her second successive nomination for the Women’s Player of the Month after more wicket-taking heroics in her side’s ODI series triumph against Pakistan.
Compatriot Fargana Hoque joins her on the shortlist after starring with the bat, notching valuable runs in the second and third encounters. The final name on the list is Pakistan’s Sadia, nominated for the first time thanks to her economical spells and an impressive performance in the first match.
Sadia was among the wickets once more during Pakistan’s visit to Bangladesh. Despite falling short of series victory, Iqbal impressed with economical wicket taking spells in the early exchanges, said a press release.
The first match was a particular highlight for the 28-year-old, her nine overs going for 13 runs with four wickets falling. This Player of the Match display was followed by another two wicket-haul, and Iqbal ended the month with six wickets at 12.50 and an economy rate of 2.58.
Nahida was named on the shortlist for the second successive month after her performances guided Bangladesh to a 2-1 victory over Pakistan in Mirpur. Nominated in October for her T20I endeavours, this time she conquered in ODIs – Akter winning the Player of the Series award with seven wickets across the three matchups at an average of 14.14, taking three for 30 in the first match and three for 26 in the decisive final fixture.
Meanwhile, with 110 runs in the victorious ODI series, Fargana Hoque earned her inaugural nomination for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month. The opener played a key role in levelling the series with a valuable 40 runs in the second outing in addition to a catch and a run out in the field as Bangladesh won in the Super Over. The series was won when Hoque top-scored in the third match with a controlled score of 62 to chase down the target and seal the triumph.
Meanwhile Men’s Player of the Month shortlist features two of Australia’s key performers as they secured their sixth Men’s Cricket World Cup crown, and one of India’s record-breaking strike bowlers.
Travis Head wrote himself into World Cup legend during November courtesy of two match-winning performances in the semi-final and final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to earn his first nomination since June. Similarly, Glenn Maxwell grabbed the headlines with an unforgettable innings to seal qualification through to the knockout stages.—APP
