The ICC POTM award for January 2024 has nominated Devon Conway of New Zealand, pacer Mohammed Siraj of India, and star batsman Shubman Gill. Given his exceptional consistency in white-ball formats so far, 2024 looks to be Shubman Gill’s year after a successful 2022 in which he excelled in ODIs and Tests.
In the subsequent three one-day internationals against the island nation, Gill scored 70, 21 and 116 runs, but it was his stunning performance in the opening ODI against New Zealand in Hyderabad that truly stole the show. On a day when none of his teammates reached 28, the 23-year-old produced an incredible knock of 208 off 149. With three consecutive sixes off Lockie Ferguson, Gill reached 200 and became the ODI’s youngest player to do so.
After that, he followed it up with scores of 40* and 112 in his subsequent two appearances, bringing his series total to 360, which tied Babar Azam’s record against the West Indies in 2016–17 as the joint-highest in a three-match ODI series.
As he began February 2024 with a stunning 126* off 63 in the three-match T20I decider against the Blackcaps in Ahmedabad, Gill proved he wasn’t finished yet. He did so to become the fifth Indian batter with hundreds in all three international formats. By the end of January, the talented Punjabi batter had scored 643 runs across 11 games and innings for an average of 64.30. In this time, he scored three centuries and a fifty.
Mohammed Siraj is also in the ICC POTM Award nominations
Mohammed Siraj has successfully led India’s fast-bowling attack in recent ODIs, showcasing his brilliance consistently, especially with the new ball, with Jasprit Bumrah absent due to an extended injury break. He was named the top bowler in ODIs in the ICC Men’s Player Rankings, which recognised his outstanding performance.
In a high-scoring first ODI match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, Siraj had a return of 2/30 from seven overs. He followed that up with figures of 3/30 and 4/32 in his subsequent two matches, respectively, to finish the series with the most wickets taken. In a high-scoring thriller against New Zealand at his home stadium in Hyderabad, the right-arm quick took 4/46 from 10 overs, and in the second ODI in Raipur, he returned a barely believable 6-1-10-1 in an outstanding opening burst. Read More: Aaron Finch retires from International cricket
Through the five innings, Siraj kept up an excellent economy of 3.82, consistently troubling the top-order batters. Among them were Avishka Fernando (three times), Kusal Mendis (twice), Devon Conway, Tom Latham, and Henry Nicholls. The most of any bowler in ODIs this year, he finished the month of January with a total of 14 wickets.
Devon Conway enters the list aswell
With three hundred and two fifties across formats in January, Devon Conway also had a strong start to the year and a deserving nomination for the ICC POTM Award. Conway started 2024 with a fluent 122 and a golden duck after finishing the year with scores of 92 and 18* in the first two Tests against Pakistan in Karachi. The second match ended in a hard-fought draw to tie the series.
The left-hander then suffered another golden duck in the first ODI of the tour before making amends with back-to-back match-winning hundreds to help his side win the three-match series 2-1. Read More: Ravindra Jadeja could feature in The first Test against Australia
The form continued into the white-ball tour of India, where he led an uphill 386-run chase by himself with a stroke-filled 138 off 100 in the third ODI in Indore. Conway later contributed to the Blackcaps’ 21-run victory in Ranchi, their only victory on the tour, with a score of 52 off 35 in the first of three T20Is.
With three centuries and two fifties, Conway finished the month of January with 493 runs overall in nine games and ten innings at an average of 49.30.
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