ICC Player of the Month: Kohli, Miller get nominated
What's the story
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the nominees for men's and women's Player of the Month for October 2022. Virat Kohli, David Miller and Sikandar Raza are fighting for the title in the men's category. Nida Dar, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues have been nominated in the women's category for their terrific show in the T20 Asia Cup 2022. Here is more.
Context
Why does this story matter?
ICC has been awarding the trophy since the start of 2021. The voting panel for the honor features renowned journalists and former cricketers. Public voting also has 10 % of stake in the outcome. The Player of the Month trophy is handed to the male and female cricketers who did exceedingly well in international cricket across formats in a particular month.
Kohli
Virat Kohli has been in sublime form lately
Kohli, who was struggling for form a few months ago, is back among the runs. He started the month with an unbeaten 49 against South Africa in the Thiruvananthapuram T20I. Kohli followed it up with scores of 82*, 62*, and 12 last month in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The 33-year-old is currently the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 220 runs.
Miller
David Miller has been on a roll
Miller has been instrumental to South Africa's recent success in white-ball cricket. The southpaw started the month with a 47-ball 106* against India in the Guwahati T20I. His other two fifty-plus scores in the month also came against India - 75* in Lucknow (ODI) and 59* in the ongoing T20 WC. Miller batted in seven innings across formats last month and returned unbeaten six times.
Raza
Sikandar Raza extends his purple patch
Sikandar Raza carried his rich vein of form into the T20 World Cup. The 36-year-old smashed a fiery 82 against Ireland in Zimbabwe's opener alongside taking a wicket. He scored 40 apiece against Scotland and Netherlands. The veteran all-rounder, who bowls off-spin, also scalped three-wicket hauls against West Indies and Pakistan. His spell against Pakistan handed the Men in Green a shocking upset.
Women's cricket
Deepti, Rodrigues shine in India Women's triumph
Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues played pivotal roles in taking India Women to their seventh Asia Cup title. Besides taking the joint-most wickets (13) in the tournament, Deepti also played a handy 64-run knock against UAE. With 217 runs in six innings, Rodrigues finished as the highest run-getter of the tournament. Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Nida Dar amassed 145 runs and claimed eight wickets.