Two star Sri Lankan players feature in ICC women's Player of the Month May award nominees
Jun 06, 2023
Dubai [UAE], June 6 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the nominees of the women's Player of the Month for May with two star Sri Lankan players dominating the list.
The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu's inclusion in the nominees is hardly a surprise as the flow of runs from her bat has been constant, even with the added responsibility of captaincy, which makes her individual feats quite remarkable.
As the backbone of the Sri Lanka women's team, she made three top scores across the T20I series win over Bangladesh, and a half-century against the same opponent in ICC Women's Championship play.
Sri Lanka's Harshitha Madavi is the second player to feature in the nominee list. The left-hander has showcased her true potential as a player, with her performances during May.
The 24-year-old was a consistent performer with the bat in the T20I series win over Bangladesh. She also played an unbeaten knock of 45* in the third ODI against the same opponents to ensure important ICC Women's Championship points.
In the shorter format, Madavi displayed her ability to score runs at a brisk pace. After top-scoring with 45 in the first T20I, Madavi backed up the innings with a calm 29* to see her team to victory in match two, then lifted her bat in the air with a performance of 51* (42) in the third T20I.
Finally, the 19-year-old Thipatcha Putthawong from Thailand made her way into the list as she continues to dazzle everyone with her performances.
She has been inflicting pain on batters with her quicker left-arm orthodox. Putthawong claimed 11 wickets and was economic as well. Not only was she the leading wicket-taker, she claimed her wickets at an average of just 1.54, conceding just 17 runs in 15.3 overs.
Three of her spells ended with economy rates of under one, with figures of 1/9 against Indonesia somehow an outlier. Putthawong's 4/3 against the Philippines was her best performance, closely joined by 3/3 and 3/2 against Malaysia and Myanmar respectively.
