Jasprit Bumrah, Smriti Mandhana named as ICC players of the month for June

NEW DELHI: India men's team pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and women's team batting mainstay Smriti Mandhana were named as ICC players of the month for June on Tuesday.
Bumrah, who was named the Player of the Tournament award for his outstanding T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, won June Men's Player of the Month award.
With a contested cricket month that culminated with India's victory in the T20 World Cup in Barbados, Bumrah defeated his Team India captain Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan to earn the honor.
In the USA and the Caribbean, the 30-year-old was at his consistent best, claiming 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and an incredible economy of 4.17.
Bumrah proved to be a constant for India during the T20 World Cup in New York, taking 3/6 against Ireland to start the tournament and then going on to register a game-winning 3/14 against Pakistan four days later.
In India's third match, Bumrah went without a wicket against the USA, but in the Super Eights, he once again displayed his class by claiming six wickets in three matches. Following that, the right-armer took 2/12 (2.4) in India's victory over England in the semi-finals. In the Barbados final, he finished with a 2/18 (4) effort against South Africa.

Bumrah thanked his family and the other two nominees after accepting the honor.
"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.
"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."
Smriti Mandhana of India received the June ICC Women's Player of the Month Award, her first in her international career, after a brilliant run that included three ODIs and a home Test match. She defeated Maia Bouchier of England and Vishmi Gunaratne of Sri Lanka.
One of the world's best top-order batters, the 27-year-old solidified her reputation with a brilliant run during India's ODI series victory over South Africa in Bengaluru, followed by an outstanding Test encounter against the same opponent in Chennai.
With a blade in hand, the left-hander was nearly unstoppable as he scored hundreds in the first two ODIs (113 and 136) and then another 90 in the third match.
Following her white ball exploits, Mandhana focused on the red ball game and, with fellow opener Shafali Verma, helped India defeat the Proteas in the Test match.
As the hosts amassed 603/6 declared in the first innings, Mandhana finished with 149 from just 161 deliveries as the two put up 292 for the first wicket of India's innings. The hosts eventually prevailed by 10 wickets in the third session of day four of the Test match, despite significant Proteas resistance.

Mandhana expressed her wish to carry on in the same manner and contribute to the success of the squad after obtaining the award.
"I'm glad to be named ICC Women's Player of the Month for the month of June.
"I'm really happy with the way I think the team has performed and I'm happy to contribute for us, winning the ODI and the Test series.
"Hopefully we can continue our form, and I can even further contribute to win matches for India."