Australian captain Pat Cummins and Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma were named the winners of the ICC Men's Player of the Month and ICC Women's Player of the Month awards for December 2023 respectively.
Pat Cummins, who was vital in Australia's successful year across formats, received the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for his outstanding performance in the Test series win against Pakistan.
Cummins faced tough competition from Taijul Islam of Bangladesh and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand. The Australia captain’s most memorable performance came in the second Test in Melbourne, where his ten-wicket haul, including a key five-for in the second innings, was critical to Australia's dramatic victory.
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"It's been a great year for the group across all formats, and to cap it off with a strong performance against a challenging Pakistan side was a nice way to finish 2023. Overall, we are very pleased with the summer so far and looking ahead to the West Indies and New Zealand series," Cummins remarked after winning the award.
On the other hand, Deepti Sharma got her maiden ICC Women's Player of the Month award after her batting and bowling prowess in all three formats helped India defeat formidable opponents in England and Australia.
Her outstanding exploits with both bat and ball were crucial in India's victory against difficult opponents. Deepti Sharma expressed her thanks for being picked for the award and thanked people around the world for their support.
Deepti had competition from teammate Jemimah Rodrigues and Zimbabwe's Precious Marange.
"It's an honor to be voted the ICC Women's Player of the Month for December. I feel perfect about my game at the moment, and I'm glad that reflected in my performances for India last month against strong opponents. I'll continue to work hard so that I can have more moments like this in the future," said Deepti Sharma.
(ANI/ICC inputs)
