India's rising youngster Shreyanka Patil earned the ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2024 nomination on Saturday, December 28. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowling all-rounder enjoyed a stunning start to her international career in 2024, deservingly earning the nomination for the prestigious ICC annual award.
South Africa's all-rounder Annerie Dercksen, Scotland's youngster Saskia Horley and Ireland's 18-year-old spin all-rounder Freya Sargent also earned the nomination after an impressive show across formats in 2024.
The 22-year-old Indian spin all-rounder made the headlines in 2024 after earning the WPL Emerging Player of the Tournament. Shreynaka led RCB to their maiden WPL title in 2024 by clinching the highest 13 wickets, including 4 in the final against Delhi Capitals.
Shreyanka, who had made her ODI and T20I debut in 2023, made a stunning impact in international cricket in 2024. She took fifteen wickets in thirteen T20I games and four wickets in two ODI innings to earn the nomination for the ICC award.
Meanwhile, Shreyanka faces a tough challenge from South African all-rounder Annerie Dercksen for the year-end award. Derksen, 23, made her Test and ODI debut this year and made an instant impact with both bat and ball to witness a sharp rise to her stature in international cricket.
Dercksen scored 161 runs and took 5 wickets in 17 T20I innings and also impressed in ODIs with 70 runs and 6 wickets in 4 innings. She also scored 50 runs across two innings in a Test match against England in her last game of 2024.
The 18-year-old Irish spin all-rounder Saskia Horley is the youngest cricketer among the nominees. Horley scored a brilliant hundred against PNG women as she scored 276 runs and took 5 wickets in just 5 ODI innings in 2024. Horley also made a big impact in T20Is by scoring 142 runs and taking 3 wickets this year and remains a strong contender for the ICC award.