Pat Cummins and Deepti Sharma were named December’s ICC Players of the Month.

In December, Deepti Sharma won her maiden ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after putting up a number of outstanding individual performances for India in all three formats.

Following the announcement of the shortlists last week, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has now announced the winners of the December 2023 ICC Men’s and Women’s Player Deepti Sharma of the Month awards.

In December 2023, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for his outstanding bowling performance during his team’s triumphant Test series against Pakistan, capping an incredible 2023.

After India defeated formidable opponents in England and Australia with remarkable wins in all three formats with to her batting and bowling prowess, Deepti Sharma gets her maiden ICC Women’s Player of the Month award.

With his leadership and bowling prowess, Cummins was instrumental in Australia’s Test victory over Pakistan in December 2023. Australia had already won their sixth Men’s Cricket World Cup earlier in the year and their maiden World Test Championship.

The team’s second Test triumph over Pakistan in Melbourne served as the high point of another outstanding month for Cummins. The bowler claimed ten wickets during the game, including a sensational spell just as the suspenseful conclusion was drawing near.

Cummins’ 250th wicket in the longest format, a well-set Mohammed Rizwan, was among his five wickets for 48 in the second innings, which ensured Australia’s stunning triumph.

Cummins is seeking to add to his collection of personal awards after a fantastic year in all forms. He is nominated for the highest men’s award in the ICC Awards 2023 for his accomplishments over the calendar year, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

“It’s been a great year for the group across all formats and to cap it off with a strong performance against a challenging Pakistan side was a nice way to finish 2023,” said Pat Cummins, the December winner of the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award.

“We are eagerly anticipating the West Indies and New Zealand series and are generally quite happy with the summer so far.”

The all-rounder took the scene in the opening Test match against England in Mumbai after beginning the month quietly in the Twenty20 International matches against England.

The off-spinner took great care of the ball, taking five crucial wickets in the first innings and four in the second, to finish with match figures of nine for 39 and win Player of the Match. He had hit 67 with the bat in the first innings, helping to build a massive first innings total.

In the next Test match victory over Australia, Deepti Sharma carried on this trend by top-scoring with a vital 78 runs in the middle order as India defeated Australia by eight wickets.

There were many more highlights for Deepti Sharma in the ensuing ODI matches against Australia, notably five for 38 in the second match as India narrowly lost.

Deepti Sharma, who was chosen as the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for December, expressed her gratitude for the honor. Right now, I’m happy with how my game is playing, and I think it showed in my performances for India against formidable opposition last month. I’m going to keep working hard to make sure I have more times like these in the future.

“I’m honored to have received this award, and it’s even more meaningful because fans all over the world voted for me. They and my comrades deserve my gratitude for making this award possible for me.

To win the December award, Cummins defeated fellow Test stars Taijul Islam of Bangladesh and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand, while Sharma triumphed over colleague Jemimah Rodrigues and Zimbabwe’s Precious Marange.