Jasprit Bumrah, Smriti Mandhana win ICC Player of the Month awards for June 2024

Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were crowned the ICC Player of the Month for June 2024.

This is the first time the cricketers have won the Player of the Month awards from the ICC. The Indian fast bowler was chosen after playing an integral part in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 win while Mandhana won the award for her excellent batting performances in India’s ODI series win against South Africa.

This is the first time cricketers from the same country have won the awards in a single month since the awards’ inception in 2021.

Bumrah edged compatriot and former Indian T20 skipper Rohit Sharma and Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz while Mandhana won the women’s award ahead of England’s Maia Bouchier and Sri Lanka’s Vishmi Gunaratne.

The 29-year-old bowler was named the Player of the Tournament of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 for his contribution of 15 wickets with an average of just 8.26 and an economy rate of 4.17.

Bumrah said he was delighted to add this accolade to his list and said he was humbled to be chosen ahead of Rohit Sharma and Gurbaz. “I am delighted to be named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June. It’s a special honour for me following a memorable few weeks spent in the USA and West Indies. We have had a lot to celebrate as a team, and I’m delighted to be able to add this personal accolade to the list. To perform as well as we did at the tournament and lift the trophy at the end is incredibly special, and I will carry those memories with me forever. I wish to congratulate my captain Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for their excellent performances in the same period, and I am humbled to have been chosen as the winner,” he said, in a statement released by the ICC.

He also went on to thank his immediate inner circle and also the fans who voted for him helping him win the award. “Finally, I want to thank my family, all of my teammates and coaches as well as the fans who have voted for me. Their support pushes me to compete at the best of my ability in national colours,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mandhana scored 343 runs against South Africa at an average of 114.33, with a strike rate of over 100. She was also awarded the Player of the Series for her batting performances against South Africa in Bengaluru and Chennai.

Mandhana said she was happy to have played a huge role in the team’s success. “I’m really glad to have won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for June. I’m really happy with the way the team has performed and I’m happy to have contributed. For us, we won the ODI and the Test series and hopefully we can continue our form and I can further contribute to win more matches for India,” she said in the statement.