Babar, Shadab nominated for ICC Player of the Month award

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced the nominees for the ICC Player of the Month award for August, which includes Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and all-rounder Shadab Khan alongside an explosive West Indies wicket-keeper Nicholas Pooran.

Apart from Pooran, the impressive show of performance by Babar and Shadab paved their way to the nomination for the prestigious award.

Pakistan's prolific right-hander Babar is aiming to become the first men's category cricketer to win three ICC Men’s Player of the Month Awards after notching up 53 and 60 during the three-match series victory over Afghanistan and a mammoth 151 against Nepal in the Asia Cup opener last month.

Meanwhile, Shadab is nominated for the first time in the Player of the Month awards after impressing with bat and ball in August against Afghanistan and Nepal.

The leg-spinner claimed just one wicket in the first two matches against Afghanistan but he took 3-42 to secure the whitewash. He also bowled a good spell of 4-27 in the win against Nepal.

With 176 runs in five T20I outings against India which led to an important 3-2 series victory, Pooran is also in the running for the award.

Pooran was named Player of the Series and is also the first nomination for the Islanders in the Men’s Player of the Month awards since Gudakesh Motie was shortlisted in February 2023.

The shortlist for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award includes three first-time nominees in the shape of Ainna Hamizah Hashim from Malaysia, Arlene Kelly from Ireland and Iris Zwilling from the Netherlands.

According to the ICC, 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 hold 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 Monday of the month on ICC’s digital channels.