The International Cricket Council (ICC) unveiled a prestigious lineup of candidates for the Men’s Player of the Month award for October on November 7.
The nominated players consist of two prominent figures in modern-day cricket: South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock and Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
Additionally, there is the emerging talent Rachin Ravindra from New Zealand. The inclusion of these three players in the list is expected due to their outstanding performances in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
In September, Indian opener Shubman Gill earned the prestigious award after delivering outstanding performances in the Asia Cup and a three-match ODI series against Australia at home.
Now, let’s closely examine how well the three nominees performed during the month of October:
Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
Having announced that the 2023 ODI World Cup would be his last in the format, de Kock put in tremendous effort to make it memorable. He started the tournament with impressive centuries against Sri Lanka and Australia and then scored another hundred against Bangladesh in Mumbai.
During six matches in October, he scored 431 runs with an average of nearly 72, and he also demonstrated his excellent wicket-keeping skills with 10 catches and a stumping.
In November, he continued his fine form by scoring a fourth century in the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand, becoming one of only three players, along with Kumar Sangakkara and Rohit Sharma, to achieve this feat in a single World Cup edition.
Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)
If Lockie Ferguson hadn’t been injured, Rachin Ravindra might not have been part of New Zealand’s starting lineup in the World Cup opener against England. However, he seized the opportunity by scoring an outstanding unbeaten 123 as New Zealand defeated the defending champions by nine wickets.
His remarkable performance in that match made him an indispensable player, and he’s been the standout discovery of the tournament. In October, he added to his achievements with another century against Australia, where New Zealand came close to chasing down a target of 389 in Dharamsala.
As a batting all-rounder, Ravindra accumulated 406 runs in six matches during October, with an impressive average of 81.20. He also contributed with three wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah (India)
Jasprit Bumrah has been outstanding since returning from his injury and continued his excellent form during the World Cup in October. He took 14 wickets in six matches with an impressive average of 15.07 and a low economy rate of 3.91.
He had some notable performances, like taking 4 wickets for 39 runs against Afghanistan and making some fantastic deliveries against Pakistan.
Bumrah played a key role in India’s successful defense of a target of 229 runs against England by taking three important wickets, including dismissing Dawid Malan and Joe Root in quick succession.
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