International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (16th January) announced the Player of the Month for December 2023. Australian skipper Pat Cummins was awarded with the title for his superlative performance in the last month.
Pat Cummins won his first Player of the Month, credit to the kind of performance he put in the Test series against Pakistan. The fast bowler picked 10 wickets in the Melbourne Test including to five-wicket hauls in the game. He also was exceptional in Perth.
Overall in two matches in December, Pat Cummins picked 13 wickets and also completed the 250 Test wickets in the longest format of the game. The Australian skipper also made handy contributions with the bat for the team and was on top of his game as a leader as well.
Pat Cummins also has been nominated for the ICC Player of the Year. He had a dream year both as a bowler as well as the captain. His team defeated India in the final of the both ICC World Test Championship and the ICC World Cup 2023.
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From the bowling front, he picked 59 wickets in Tests and ODIs. He led from the front and was one of the main reasons behind Australia’s success in two formats in 2023. He’s likely to win that award as well.
One winning ICC Player of the Month award, Pat Cummins said: “It’s been a great year for the group across all formats and to cap it off with a strong performance against a challenging Pakistan side was a nice way to finish 2023.”
Deepti Sharma wins ICC Women Player of the Month
Apart from Pat Cummins’s winnings, India women’s cricketer Deepti Sharma also won ICC Women Player of the Month. The all-rounder was at her exceptional best with the bat and ball. She displayed great all-round performance with both bat and ball that helped the team win.
Deepti Sharma slammed 165 runs and also picked 11 wickets in two Tests. Apart from this she also bagged a five-wicket haul in the second ODI against Australia. She played an important role in Team India’s success.