Pant, Ashwin nominated for ICC player of the month awards for January

Two other Indians - Mohammed Siraj and T. Natarajan - are also in contention for the awards.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 07: Ravichandran Ashwin and Rishabh Pant of India celebrate getting the wicket of Marcus Harris of Australia during day two of the First Test match in the series between Australia and India at Adelaide Oval on December 07, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

India off-spinner R. Ashwin and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant were on Wednesday nominated for the player of the month awards by the International Cricket Council. Two other Indians - Mohammed Siraj and T. Natarajan - are also in the fray.

All four cricketers played a role in India’s recent Test series win against Australia.

The ICC said the awards will recognise the best performances of both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year.

Other players named for the awards for January are England captain Joe Root, star Australia batsman Steve Smith, Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan, Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk of South Africa and Nida Dar of Pakistan. Fans are invited to vote online every month to award their favourite male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket played in that month, the ICC stated.

An independent ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, broadcasters and journalists from around the world will team up with fans to vote for the winners.

'Great way to connect with the fans'

Geoff Allardice, ICC General Manager – Cricket, said: “The ICC Player of the Month is a great way to connect with fans of the sport and celebrate performances of their favourite players through the year. It gives us all an opportunity to acknowledge world class performances on the field by male and female cricketers and they have been in abundance throughout January.”

ICC announces 'Player of the Month' awards

Fans can have their say, alongside an expert panel!

Register on the ICC website to vote on the first of each month

More https://t.co/npYRT102dd

— ICC (@ICC) January 27, 2021

 

The three nominees for each of the categories will be determined by the ICC Awards Nominations Committee based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month.) The Voting Academy will submit its votes by email and will retain a 90 per cent share of the vote. Subsequently, on the first day of each month, fans registered with the ICC will be able to submit votes via the ICC website and will have a 10 per cent share of the vote.

Winners will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels.