India duo of middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues and off-spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma on Thursday were named on the shortlist for ICC Women’s Player of the Month award, following their heroics in the Women’s Asia Cup for India to clinch the trophy. Apart from the two, Pakistan’s Nida Dar has also been nominated for the honour.
Jemimah was previously nominated back in August thanks to her stellar displays in the Commonwealth Games, and once again she was a driving force behind India’s surge to Women’s Asia Cup success.
When her side celebrated victory over Sri Lanka in the final, Jemimah was the leading run-scorer for the tournament, having amassed 217 runs from her eight matches at an average of 54.25. Among her top displays was the 76 she scored against the eventual finalists in the opening game, setting the tone for India’s prize-winning campaign for the seventh time in the history of the tournament.
Deepti, another of India’s talismanic performers, enjoyed a prolific month during the Women’s Asia Cup, departing Bangladesh with the event trophy and the Player of the Tournament accolade.
Her 13 wickets at a remarkable average of 7.69 underlines the consistent threat she posed with the ball, including impressive figures of three for against Pakistan and three for in the semi-final against Thailand.
Nida, meanwhile, has for so long been an influential figure in the Pakistan lineup, and throughout the Women’s Asia Cup in Bangladesh last month, she showed the full range of her batting and bowling abilities. She finished the month having scored 145 runs at an average of 72.50 in her seven T20Is, as well as taking eight wickets.
Despite not getting to the final, Nida was inspirational not least in her side’s historic victory over India in Sylhet, where she won the Player of the Match award for her unbeaten 56 and two wickets for 23 runs.
