South Africa batter Aiden Markram and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month awards, joining Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka on the men’s shortlist, while for the women’s award, the candidates include West Indies players Hayley Matthews and Afy Fletcher, along with South Africa’s Tazmin Brits.

Markram and Rabada were the stars of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final, while Nissanka’s fine form in the two-Test series against Bangladesh helped him edge ahead of other performers. The women’s shortlist is based primarily on performances during South Africa’s tour of the West Indies.

An independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world will now be invited to cast their votes to decide the winners. Fans are now able to vote for their favourite performers at icc-cricket.com/awards.

ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for June 2025

• MEN’S AWARD

Aiden Markram (SA)

The 30-year-old opening batter was the Player of the Match in the ICC WTC Final against Australia at Lord’s as South Africa won their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 1998. He struck a solid 136 off 207 balls and featured in a 147-run third wicket stand with captain Temba Bavuma as South Africa chased a target of 282 with five wickets in hand. Markram also chipped in with a wicket in each innings, including that of Steve Smith in the first innings.

Kagiso Rabada (SA)

Rabada grabbed nine wickets at an average of 12.22 in the WTC Final – his figures reading five for 51 and four for 59. The formerly top-ranked Test bowler struck important blows to ensure that Australia did not get big starts – dismissing opener Usman Khawaja and number three batter Cameron Greene cheaply in both innings.

Pathum Nissanka (SL)

The 27-year-old opener set the platform for a huge first innings score in the drawn first Test in Galle, knocking up 187 and featuring in an important second wicket stand with Dinesh Chandimal. He then struck 158 in the second Test in Colombo as the home side defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 78 runs. Nissanka was named the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series for his aggregate of 369 runs in the two-Test WTC series.

• WOMEN’S AWARD

Tazmin Brits (SA)

The South African opener had a memorable tour of the Caribbean, showing fine form in both ODIs and T20Is. She struck 184 runs at a strike rate of 87.61 in three ODIs, including a 101 off 91 balls in the final match. In the subsequent T20I series, she scored 132 runs at a strike rate of 122.22, which included a 98 not out from 63 deliveries in the first match.

Hayley Matthews (WI)

The West Indies skipper scored 104 runs in the three ODIs against South Africa, including a half-century in the third match. She also chipped in with four wickets. She then elevated her performances in T20Is, scoring 147 runs at a strike-rate of 120.49, with two half-centuries. Matthews also grabbed two wickets. She was named the Player of the Series in the T20Is as the West Indies won 2-1.

Afy Fletcher (WI)

The leading wicket-taker in both the ODI and T20I series against South Africa, the 38-year-old leg-spinner finished with nine wickets in ODIs during June, which included one in a preceding series in England. Her eight wickets in the series against South Africa included a four-wicket haul in the second ODI and three in the final match. She also scored a total of 30 runs in these ODIs. In the T20Is, she claimed five wickets from three outings at an economy rate of 6.75.

The ICC Player of the Month Voting Process:

The three nominees for either category are shortlisted based on performances from the first to the last day of each calendar month. The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity, including well-known journalists, former players, broadcasters and members of the ICC Hall of Fame. The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and holds a 90 per cent share of the vote. Fans registered with the ICC can vote via the ICC website, accounting for the remaining 10 per cent. Winners are announced every second week of the month on ICC’s digital channels.

Voting Academy for the ICC Player of the Month:

Afghanistan: Javed Hamim; Australia: Daniel Cherny and Lisa Sthalekar; Bangladesh: Mazhar Uddin and Md Ariful Islam Roney; England: Chris Stocks and Lydia Greenway; Ireland: Ger Siggins and Clare Shillington; India: S Gomesh and Shivani Gupta; New Zealand: Craig Cumming; Pakistan: Saleem Khaliq and Sana Mir; South Africa: Zaahier Adams and Ashwell Prince; Sri Lanka: Danushka Aravinda and Farveez Maharoof; West Indies: Daren Ganga and Stacy Ann King; Zimbabwe: Lawrence Trusida; Others: Darren Allan Kyeyune and Kyle Coetzer. (ICC)

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By Sandaru Munasinghe

Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka has expressed confidence in attempting to surpass Sri Lanka cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara’s records. 

Speaking to the local sports website, The Papare, Pathum Nissanka said, however, Sangakkara was way above his league, but he was confident of attempting it.

“Sangakkara is a star and a legend. His experience and knowledge helped the team as a whole. He gave us a lot of support during this tournament,” Nissanka said. 

Commenting on his performance against England, Pathum Nissanka said he had worked hard during the practice session and had changed his mindset for the tournament.

Stating that even though he knew it was difficult to adjust to test cricket within a short span of time, Nissanka revealed he had continued with his game plan similar to an ODI and it had worked out well for him.

The cricket further said that the series against England and their victory had given great confidence to the Sri Lankan cricket team. 

On September 9, Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka made history at Kennington Oval in London by scoring an unbeaten 127 to get Sri Lanka over the line in the run chase of 219. 

Not only becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a century against England in the fourth innings, the 26-year-old also entered an elite list of legends, becoming the 10th batter to score a Test century in the fourth innings against England in a winning cause. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s top-order batsman Pathum Nissanka has broken into the top 10 of the latest ODI Rankings. 

According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pathum Nissanka entered the top 10 at eighth following a three-place rise.

The jump in position in the latest ODI rankings for batters follows Sri Lanka’s series against Bangladesh.

Pathum Nissanka totalled 151 runs from the series that Bangladesh claimed 2-1.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s middle order batsman Charith Asalanka has improved two spots to 14th in the latest ODI Rankings.

Asalanka has jumped two spots in the rankings following his 146 runs from three innings.

In the ICC’s latest T20I rankings, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana are among the top five.

All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga is placed second in the T20I rankings with 687 ranking points.

Spinner Maheesh Theekshana has secured the fifth spot with 659 ranking points. (NewsWire)

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Three top-order batters from Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand have made the shortlist for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award for February 2024.

Vote for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month – February 2024

Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka)

Pathum Nissanka is a top contender for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2024 after he slammed the first-ever double century in ODIs by a Sri Lankan. The 25-year-old blasted 210* off just 139 balls against Afghanistan in Pallekele and then went on to end the series with another terrific hundred (118 off 101 balls).

Nissanka beat Sanath Jayasuriya’s 24-year-old record for the highest score by a Sri Lankan in ODIs.

Jayasuriya had scored 189 against India in Sharjah in 2000. In the last 18 overs, Nissanka slammed 110 runs. He took merely 48 balls to reach his double ton after crossing his century, smashing 20 fours and eight sixes.

Nissanka carried the form into the T20Is, smashing 25 off 11 to give a riveting start in the second T20I against Afghanistan and then hit 60 off just 30 balls to kickstart a run-chase of 210. However, he retired hurt with the score of 83/2 and Sri Lanka ended up losing by three runs.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

Kane Williamson played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s first-ever Test series victory over South Africa. The New Zealand veteran slammed two hundreds in the first Test in Mount Maunganui, and then made 133* to help his team chase down a tricky fourth-innings target in Hamilton to ensure the series victory.

This was Williamson’s first instance of scoring two hundreds in a Test match. The impactful series he had ensured that New Zealand would climb up the ICC World Test Championship table, finishing in second position at the end of February with three wins in five Tests.

Kane Williamson shatters records with match-winning ton

It was in Hamilton, though, that Williamson reserved his best for with the team in trouble. Chasing 267, Williamson walked in at No.3 and struck a 133*, laced with 12 fours and two sixes to guide the Black Caps to a whitewash 2-0 series victory.

The chase orchestrated by Williamson was the fourth-highest successful chase in New Zealand by the Black Caps and the fifth-highest overall. Williamson also notched his 32nd Test ton, now the highest among active players. He also claimed the title of the quickest to 32 Test centuries by innings, bettering Steve Smith who accomplished the feat in 174 innings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (India)

With back-to-back double centuries in the month, Yashasvi Jaiswal is a strong contender for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2024. Jaiswal was in top form against England, slamming 2019 in Vizag in the first innings of the second Test and then going on to make a second innings double century in the next Test in Rajkot to help India take a lead in the series.

India youngsters receive rankings boost following epic Ranchi triumph

Jaiswal’s knocks helped India fight back from a loss in the first Test of the series. The left-handed opener also rose to the top of the leading run-scorer list in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.

Jaiswal created several records in February, and equalled the long-standing Test record for most sixes in a Test innings (12) during his Rajkot knock. The back-to-back double hundreds at the age of 22 years and 49 days made him the third youngest batter in the world to record two double centuries in Tests after Sir Donald Bradman and Vinod Kambli.

Jaiswal ended February with astounding numbers in the three Tests he featured in — 560 runs at an average of 112 including 20 sixes. (ICC)

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Legendary Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has heaped praise on young cricketer Pathum Nissanka following the latter’s maiden ODI double-century against Afghanistan.

Nissanka broke the record of 189 runs scored by Sanath Jayasuriya against India in Sharjah in 2000, which remained the highest ODI score amassed by a Sri Lankan for over 20 years.

Pathum Nissanka yesterday became the first Sri Lankan player to score a double century in One Day International (ODI) cricket.

He scored 210 off just 139 balls to register the first-ever individual double-century for the Lions and also became the 12th player to hit an ODI double-century in international cricket.

Heaping praise on the young cricketer, Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya called the cricketer’s performance a masterclass in batting, adding that he was privileged to witness it in person. 

Responding to the senior cricketer, Pathum Nissanka thanked Jayasuriya for all the support and guidance offered to him, adding “Your 189 will always be the best ODI innings played by a Sri Lankan.” (NewsWire) 

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