Shreyas Iyer nominated for ICC Men's Player of the Month award
Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has been nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Player of the Month Award for February. UAE batter Vriitya Aravind and Nepal’s Dipendra Sing Airee are the other nominees in the men's category.
The names were chosen via a combination of votes from fans and an independent ICC panel comprising former players and journalists from over a dozen countries.
Iyer was simply brilliant last month. He scored a match-winning 111-ball 80 in India's third home ODI against West Indies, followed by a 16-ball 25 in the last T20I of the same tour. After playing in Virat Kohli's usual position at No.3 in the T20Is against Sri Lanka, he slammed three consecutive unbeaten fifties to equal the former captain's record. Overall he scored 204 runs, striking at a brilliant 174.35.
Chennai-born Aravind was the Player of the Tournament at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A held in Oman in February. The 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter notched 267 runs at an average of 89.00 and a strike rate of 154.33 in five games to help the UAE qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
Airee earned himself the nomination via the same tournament. The 22-year-old all-rounder accumulated 159 runs and six wickets. His contribution helped Nepal finish third. Before the tournament, he also amassed 142 runs and a four-for in four games in the quadrangular series against Oman, UAE, and Ireland.
Shreyas Iyer to be back in action on March 12
Iyer will get a chance to continue his brilliant form in the second Test against Sri Lanka, which will begin on March 12 in Bengaluru.
In India's only innings of the first Test of the series, he scored a fine 48-ball 27 but couldn't keep going. The second game will commence at 2:00 pm IST on Saturday.