India opener Shafali Verma, whose blazing 87 and two key wickets powered the country to its maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title, was on Friday named in the ICC Player of the Month shortlist for November.
Shafali, drafted into the squad as an injury replacement, delivered a match-winning all-round performance in the final against South Africa in Mumbai, earning the Player of the Match award and now a place among the three nominees for the monthly honour. She is joined on the women’s list by Esha Oza of the UAE and Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong, both standout performers in the inaugural ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy held in Bangkok.
Oza, the UAE captain, aggregated 187 runs at a strike rate of 137.50 and picked up seven wickets across seven T20Is, winning the Player of the Tournament award. Putthawong finished as the joint leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps, including a four-wicket burst in the final against Scotland to propel Thailand to the title. In the men’s category, South Africa’s off-spinner Simon Harmer, Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, and Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz made the shortlist.
Harmer played a pivotal role in South Africa’s historic 2-0 Test series win over India - their first in the country in 25 years - claiming 17 wickets at an astonishing average of 8.94, including a match-winning 6/37 in the second Test. His dominance earned him both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honours. Taijul led Bangladesh’s 2-0 sweep of Ireland with 13 wickets at 26.30, also walking away with the Player of the Series award.
Nawaz shone with both bat and ball during Pakistan’s triumphant Tri-Series campaign against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He struck 104 ODI runs at 52.00, added 11 T20I wickets at 12.72, and claimed match-winning figures of 3/17 in the final to secure yet another Player of the Series accolade. An independent ICC Voting Academy and fans worldwide will now vote to decide the winners, with fan voting open on the ICC website.
