Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has featured in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Player of the Month nominees for August 2021 along with England skipper Joe Root and Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.
Bumrah was exceptional with his fast bowling against host England in the ongoing five-match Test series.
The 27-year-old pacer scalped nine wickets in the first Test, but received just as many plaudits for his role with the bat in the second Test at Lord’s, when he contributed to an 89-run ninth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Shami that proved pivotal to India’s win.
Bumrah picked 14 wickets in the first three Test against England, which also included a fifer.
Afridi, in two Tests against West Indies in August, promised wickets every time he was thrown the ball. He ended the series with 18 wickets, taking 10 wickets in the second Test and helped Pakistan secure a series-levelling 109-run victory.
In taking ten wickets in the Test, Afridi became the fourth-youngest paceman from Pakistan to achieve the feat, after Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Zahid.
England went on to level the series in the third Test, mostly thanks to captain Root, who has plundered runs at will.
Root scored centuries in each of the three Tests against India in August, a purple patch that led him to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Test batting rankings.
On the other hand, the women’s nominees feature Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham, and the Ireland duo of Gaby Lewis and Eimear Richardson.
Boochatham made contributions with both bat and ball in the series against Zimbabwe, which propelled her to career-best positions across the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player rankings for batters, bowlers, and all-rounders.
Her performances helped Thailand win their three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 2-1.
The Ireland duo of Lewis and Richardson played a big part in Ireland’s three wins out of four in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in August.
Lewis became the first Ireland player to score a century in women’s T20Is, during their 164-run win over Germany, in the opening game of the tournament. Lewis’ knock featured 11 fours and three sixes, and her 105 came off just 60 balls.
Richardson, meanwhile, was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in Europe Qualifiers, thanks to her contributions with both bat and ball. She finished the tournament with seven wickets at an economy rate of 4.19, and aggregated 76 runs with the bat.
Fans can vote for their favourite players by heading here – voting will close on Saturday, September 11 and the winners will be announced on Monday.