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Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE Test cricket interim skipper Sean Williams has been nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month awards for March.

Williams was nominated alongside Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar of India. This is the first time a Zimbabwean player has been shortlisted in the monthly awards.

The ICC introduced the Player of the Month awards in January this year to “recognise and celebrate the best performances of both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year.”

Williams was outstanding when Zimbabwe played two Tests against Afghanistan last month. He was voted man of the series for his two centuries in three innings as Zimbabwe drew 1-1 with Afghanistan in the Test series played in Abu Dhabi.

He scored a total of 264 runs and took two wickets. He also went on to play three T20Is against them wherein he scored 45 runs with a strike rate of 128.57.

Khan of Afghanistan took 11 wickets as his team won the second Test against Zimbabwe and followed up with six wickets in the 3-0 T20I victory for his side.

Kumar from India played three ODIs against England where he took six wickets with an economy rate of 4.65. He also went on to play five T20Is against them where he took four wickets with an economy rate of 6.38. He was the standout bowler on either side in the white ball series between India and England.

In the women’s game, the ICC Awards Nominations Committee shortlisted Lizelle Lee of South Africa and the Indian duo of Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Punam Raut.

An independent ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, broadcasters, and journalists from around the world, will team up with fans to vote for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month and ICC Women’s Player of the Month.

“Fans can now vote on www.icc-cricket.com for their favourite ICC Player of the Month (March),” said the ICC in a statement this morning.

The ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for March:
Rashid Khan (AFG), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND), Sean Williams (ZIM)
ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees for March:
Rajeshwari Gayakwad (IND), Lizelle Lee (SA), Punam Raut (IND)