Axar Patel nominated for ICC Player of the Month alongside Cameron Green and Mohammad Rizwan
Axar Patel is part of the three-man list that is in contention for being named the player of the month for September by the International Cricket Council. He had an impressive run of form over the last 30 days, much like fellow nominees Mohammad Rizwan and upcoming Australian prodigy Cameron Green.
The Internation Cricket Council's Award Nominating Committee has named Axar Patel, Mohammad Rizwan, and Cameron Green as the three nominees for the organization's player of the month award for September. The independent panel believes these three men were the best performers in international cricket over the past 30 days and will now proceed to vote between the three to choose a winner, with their award making up 90% of the scores while the fans' votes complete the procedure. The August award was won by Sikander Raza following a string of centuries against the likes of Bangladesh and India.
Axar Patel has impressed in the absence of fellow all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, especially with the ball. he bagged eight wickets in the three-match T20I series against Australia on home soil to earn the player of the series award despite fierce competition. The spinner's performance in the second game was particularly impressive as he returned figures of 2/13 from two overs in a high-scoring match that had been curtailed to eight overs a side. Should Patel triumph over the other two, he will become the fifth Indian to receive the honor after Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shreyas Iyer.
Mohammad Rizwan, however, has made a strong case for himself, breaking the record for the most runs by a batsman in bilateral T20I series during the recent visit by England. The opener struck four half-centuries in six games, tallying a total of 316 runs at an average of 63.20. Earlier in the month, he had played a match-winning knock of 71 against India in the Asia Cup as well before a valiant 55 versus Sri Lanka in the final saw him almost take his team to victory singlehandedly. The 30-year-old will be hopeful of winning his first such honor by the ICC and following in skipper Babar Azam's footsteps who has won it twice.
Cameron Green completes the list having burst onto the scene with his all-round abilities in white-ball cricket. The right-handed batter began the month with a well-calculated 89 against arch-rivals New Zealand followed by a rapid 25 and a two-wicket haul in the second ODI. These performances earned him a spot at the top of the order in the T20I series against the Men in Blue. Filling in for David Warner, the 23-year-old struck a handsome 30-ball 61 in the first encounter and finished the series with a flamboyant 52 off just 21 balls.