Shafali Verma, Devon Conway nominated for ICC Player of the Month award
Shafali Verma and Devon Conway, who recently made their Test debuts, have received nominations for the ICC Player of the Month Award for June 2021.
While Conway has been nominated in the men's category along with Kyle Jamieson and Quinton de Kock, Shafali Verma will be vying for the award with Sophie Ecclestone and Sneh Rana.
Voting for both categories has opened, with the winners to be declared by the ICC on Monday (July 12).
Shafali Verma dominated the English bowlers in her first Test match
Shafali Verma performed brilliantly for the Indian women's cricket team last month. The 17-year-old, who received her maiden Test cap against England in Bristol, kicked off her Test career in style with twin half-centuries.
Verma had a record-breaking opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana in the first innings of the one-off Test. Unfortunately, she could not touch the three-figure mark.
The opening batter also made her ODI debut last month and went on to aggregate 59 runs in the two matches she played.
Shafali's teammate Sneh Rana also made her Test debut in Bristol, where she picked up four wickets and scored 82 runs. Meanwhile, England's Sophie Ecclestone scalped a total of 14 wickets in the one-off Test and two ODIs against India last month.
Devon Conway scored 379 Test runs in June 2021
Speaking of men's players, Devon Conway seems to be the number one contender for the ICC Men's Player of the Month award. The South Africa-born player made his Test debut for New Zealand on June 2. He smashed a double hundred on Test debut and ended the month with 379 runs in three Tests.
Devon Conway faces competition from his teammate Kyle Jamieson, who took ten wickets and scored 30 runs in two Tests last month. Even South Africa's wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock is in the race to win the award. Quinton amassed a total of 372 runs in two Tests and three T20Is against the West Indies in June 2021.