The ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for January 2025 has been won by Jomel Warrican of the West Indies.
The wonderful run in met Pakistan, where he achieved his very own career-best figures while steering West Indies to their first Test victory in the Asian country in 35 years.
This award from ICC Men’s Player of the Month is the first for Warrican against two other outstanding spinners from the January battle: Pakistan’s Noman Ali and India’s Varun Chakravarthy.
Not only did he record an average of just 9.00, but this month also saw the 32-year-old emerging with 19 wickets from just two Test matches. He was the first West Indian to receive the award since fellow spinner Gudakesh Motie back in May 2024.
He claimed career-best bowling figures of 10-101 and on top of that scored an unbeaten 31 in the first Test in Multan, but with Pakistan winning by 127 runs-mostly from Sajid Khan’s 9-115-the West Indies’ batting wasn’t enough to save the match.
Warrican rebounded during the second Test at that venue by first batting, scoring a gutsy 36 from No.11, followed by bowling four wickets in the first innings, resulting in a small lead for his team. Contributions of 4-43 and 5-27 came either side of 18 more valuable runs in the second innings, thus the spinner’s all-round heroics heralding a historic 120-run victory alongside a richly deserved Player of the Series accolade were further enhanced.
“It’s an honour to have won this award. This year has been about me getting my first five-for in Test cricket, but I did not think it would be anything like this!
“I promised my captain something special in this series, especially when my father, my biggest supporter, told me that I would perform incredibly. Multan is close to my heart: for not only that glorious win for the West Indies beating Pakistan here, but also for this award,” Warrican said.
