Pant, Ashwin nominated for ICC Player of the Month awards
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant have been nominated for the newly-introduced Player of the Month awards by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Besides the duo, two other Indians, Mohammed Siraj, and T Natarajan are also in line for the same. These five players played a key role as India won the Border-Gavaskar series 2-1 Down Under. Here is more.
On this development, the ICC stated these accolades will recognize the best performances of both male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket throughout the year. As per the global cricket body, the fans will vote online every month to pick their favorite male and female player based on their performance in international cricket in that month.
Other players nominated for the month of January are England captain Joe Root, star Australia batsman Steve Smith, Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz, women's cricketers Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk of South Africa and Nida Dar of Pakistan.
An independent ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, broadcasters and journalists (global) will team up with fans to vote for the winners. The independent committee will retain 90 per cent share of the vote. Notably, the three nominees for each category will be determined by the ICC Awards Nominations Committee based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month.
On the first day of the month, fans registered with the ICC will be able to submit votes through the ICC website. Meanwhile, the winners will be announced on every second Monday of the month on ICC's digital channels.
Right-arm spinner Ashwin helped Team India draw the historic SCG Test. His 62-run stand with middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari denied the Australians victory. Meanwhile, Pant's unbeaten 89 handed India their first-ever Test victory at the Gabba. In the same match, fast bowler Siraj also picked his maiden five-for. Debutant Natarajan made notable contributions in the match by taking three wickets.
