Shubman Gill wins ICC Player of the Month award for September
Shubman Gill, the emerging star from India, has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for September 2023, following an outstanding performance in a series of ODIs leading up to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Gill outshone his teammates Mohammed Siraj and England’s Dawid Malan to secure this accolade, amassing an impressive 480 ODI runs in September at an average of 80. He was the leading run-scorer at the Asia Cup, accumulating 302 runs with an impressive average of 75.5, which included an unbeaten 27* as India convincingly defeated Sri Lanka by ten wickets in the final.
Gill continued his exceptional form, contributing 178 runs in two innings against Australia as India fine-tuned their preparations for the Cricket World Cup on home soil. The right-handed opener displayed his class by scoring a century (104) against Australia in the second of those ODIs, adding to his three-figure performance against Bangladesh (121) during the Asia Cup, resulting in two centuries in September.
Furthermore, Gill notched up three half-centuries last month and was dismissed for less than fifty on only two occasions out of eight innings.
In ODIs, the 24-year-old has an impressive record, amassing 1917 runs in 35 matches at an average of 66.1 and a striking strike rate of 102.84. He currently holds the No. 2 position in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings.
Unfortunately, Gill missed India’s initial matches in the Cricket World Cup due to illness, but he remains a pivotal player for the hosts, with their hopes of lifting the trophy for the first time since 2011 resting on his shoulders.
His first match in the Cricket World Cup came against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Gill scored just 16 runs on his WC debut but showed exactly what is yet to come in the upcoming matches. The 24-year-old has scored 5 Half centuries, 4 Centuries and 1 Double century.
