Pat Cummins from Australia and India's Deepti Sharma have been honored with the ICC Men's and Women's Player of the Month awards for their outstanding performances in December 2023.
Pat Cummins, Australia's captain, clinched the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for his remarkable bowling skills during the victorious Test series against Pakistan. Cummins played a crucial role in Australia's successful 2023 campaign, winning both the World Test Championship and the Men's Cricket World Cup. His standout moment in December was a stunning ten-wicket performance in the second Test against Pakistan in Melbourne, securing Australia's thrilling victory.
Expressing his joy, Cummins said, "It's been a great year for the group across all formats, and to finish 2023 with a strong performance against a challenging Pakistan side was a nice way to end the year." Cummins is now in the running for the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy at the ICC Awards 2023 for his outstanding performances throughout the year.
On the women's side, Deepti Sharma claimed the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for her exceptional all-round display against England and Australia. Her contributions played a key role in India's victories over strong opponents in all three formats. Deepti expressed her gratitude, saying, "It's an honour to be voted the ICC Women's Player of the Month for December. I feel very good about my game at the moment, and I'm glad that it reflected in my performances for India last month against strong opponents."
Deepti's outstanding form saw her win over teammate Jemimah Rodrigues and Zimbabwe's Precious Marange in the monthly recognition by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The December awards come after shortlists were announced the previous week. Pat Cummins outshone fellow Test stars Taijul Islam of Bangladesh and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand to secure the Men's Player of the Month. Deepti Sharma's stellar performances saw her triumph over teammate Jemimah Rodrigues and Zimbabwe's Precious Marange in the Women's category.
