Bumrah, Mandhana conferred ICC Player of the Month Awards

The International Cricket Council (ICC), governing body of the game worldwide revealed the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for June 2024 on Tuesday, with India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana both emerging victorious from last week’s global vote from international fans along with that from a specialist panel comprising ICC Hall of Famers, former international players, and media representatives.  The momentous occasion marks the first time a nation has won both men’s and women’s awards in the same month

The express pacer Bumrah came out on top in the Men’s vote ahead of his skipper Rohit Sharma and Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, while stylish opener Mandhana won the Women’s award by overcoming England’s opener Maia Bouchier and Sri Lanka’s young top order batter Vishmi Gunaratne.

Bumrah was crowned Player of the Tournament following India’s triumphant campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies, and followed this feat with another personal honour, claiming his first ICC Men’s Player of the Month award.

Mandhana also won her maiden ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after her scintillating batting performances lit up India’s ODI series victory over South Africa.

The double-win marks the first time the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month represent the same country since the awards began in 2021.

Bumrah was at the heart of India’s trophy-winning success during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Displaying excellent control and consistency, the 30-year-old sparkled throughout, providing valuable wickets and tightening the bowling effort against all opposition.

With no shortage of highlights during the month, Bumrah’s finest performances came in some of India’s most hard-fought victories. The dramatic victory over rivals Pakistan seemed unlikely before he returned to action, taking the crucial wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed in a Player of the Match performance for the ages.

Tight, successful spells followed against Afghanistan (three for seven), Bangladesh (two for 13) and in the semi-final against England (two for 12), before Bumrah made his mark on the biggest stage of all.

When it again seemed like the match was swinging towards the opposition, the seamer turned the tide with a match-winning display of fast bowling to take the wicket of Marco Jansen and stem the flow of runs dramatically in his final two overs to hold off the South African run chase by seven runs and seal India’s first ICC silverware in 13 years amid jubilant scenes.

For his out-of-this-world efforts, the pacer was named the ICC Player of the Tournament for his contribution of 15 wickets alongside a breathtaking average of 8.26 and a supreme economy rate of 4.17.

As may be recalled Ex Indian captain Virat Kohli, who has announced his retirement from T20I cricket along with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, spoke highly of for the ace Indian pacer Bumrah who time and again extricated the Men in Blue from difficult situations on several occasions during the T20 World Cup 2024 and declared him a ‘8^th Wonder’ and ‘National Treasure’ for his heroics.

Reacting to his award win, the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June, Jasprit Bumrah, commented, “I am delighted to be named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June. It’s a special honour for me following a memorable few weeks spent in the USA and West Indies. We have had a lot to celebrate as a team, and I’m delighted to be able to add this personal accolade to the list. To perform as well as we did at the tournament and lift the trophy at the end is incredibly special, and I will carry those memories with me forever”.

He further added, “I wish to congratulate my captain Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for their excellent performances in the same period, and I am humbled to have been chosen as the winner. Finally, I want to thank my family, all of my teammates and coaches as well as the fans who have voted for me. Their support pushes me to compete at the best of my ability in national colours."

Indian vice-captain Mandhana won her first ICC Women’s Player of the Month after playing a starring role in India’s sweep over South Africa in the ODI series last month.

The south paw set the tone for her prolific spell at the crease with a commanding 117 in the first outing in Bengaluru recently. Despite an early stutter by the hosts in which they fell to 99 for five, Mandhana remained resolute, and benefitted from some lower order resistance to guide India to a formidable score of 265 from their 50 overs, which proved far beyond the Proteas.

Mandhana went one better in the second match, hitting her second successive century and top scoring in a game that saw 646 runs in total. The opener blitzed the South African bowling attack, smashing 136 in 120 balls and in tandem with her captain Harmanpreet Kaur, posted just enough to see off the resurgent visitors.

She came close to sealing a hat-trick of hundreds in the final outing, falling agonizingly on 90 in a stylish effort that ensured India recorded a comfortable victory to close out the series. During the period, Mandhana recorded 343 runs at an average of 114.33, with a strike rate of over 100, earning her the Player of the Series award.

Acknowledging her awards success, Smriti Mandhana, said, “I’m really glad to have won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for June. I’m really happy with the way the team has performed and I’m happy to have contributed. For us, we won the ODI and the Test series and hopefully we can continue our form and I can further contribute to win more matches for India.

Photo Above: India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana seal ICC Player of the Month Awards for June, A first for any cricket playing nation (Photo courtesy The- ICC)