Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad among nominations for ICC player of the month
Punam Raut also earns ICC women's player of the month nomination after a strong show in the India-South Africa series.
International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday revealed the nominees for their player of the month award with Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar among its nominees. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and Zimbabwe's Sean Williams were the other two nominees.
Among women cricketers' two Indians were nominated for the award. Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Punam Raut were the two Indians while South Africa's Lizelle Lee is the other nomination.
Bhuvneshwar, who made a comeback during the India-England limited-over series last month after a long injury lay-off, impressed with six wickets in the three-match series while maintaining an economy rate of 4.65. He also played in five T20Is, picking four wickets at an economy rate of 6.38.
His competitor Rasid was the star performer among Afghans as well as he picked 11 wickets in the team's second Test win against Zimbabwe while picking up six wickets in the 3-0 T20 series win against the same outfit.
Zimbabwe's Sean Williams too impressed with an all-round show with 264 runs from the bat and two wickets in the two Tests against Afghanistan. He also scored 45 runs with a strike rate of 128.57 in three T20Is.
Among women's cricketers, Rajeshwari was the leading wicket-taker in the T20I and ODI series against South Africa with four wickets and eight wickets respectively. Punam Raut was India's top-scored in the ODI series, which India conceded 1-4, with 263 runs at an average of 87.66; scoring a century and two fifties.
The duo is expected to receive stiff competition from South African Lizelle Lee who scored a century and two fifties as well in four ODIs while reaching the top of the ICC Women's ODI Batting Rankings.