Shubman Gill is in the running for the ICC Player of the Month award for July. He’s up against South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder and England’s Ben Stokes.
Gill’s leadership was evident in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England. His young team drew 2-2 in a series that was hard fought. The 25-year-old made a big impact with the bat, scoring 754 runs, including four centuries. One of those was a double and he averaged 75.40 across the series. He broke Sunil Gavaskar’s record (732 runs) for most runs by an Indian captain in a five-Test series. Now Gill’s total is second only to Sir Donald Bradman (810 runs) for captains in Test history. According to the ICC website, Shubman Gill had an amazing month, scoring 567 runs at 94.50 in three Tests of the series against England.
Wiaan Mulder also had a good month. With Keshav Maharaj unavailable, Mulder captained South Africa in a two-Test series against Zimbabwe. In the second Test, Mulder achieved a personal milestone, breaking South Africa’s record for the highest individual Test score. He was on track to break the highest score in Test cricket but declared the innings at 367 to save Brian Lara’s record. Across the two matches he scored 531 runs at 265.50 and a composed 147 in the second innings of the first Test. Mulder also chipped in with the ball, taking 7 wickets.
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Ben Stokes also had a good series. In the home series against India, the England captain scored 251 runs at 50.20 and took 12 wickets at 26.33. He was at his best at crucial moments in the series. He was Man of the Match in the third and fourth Tests of the five-match series. A highlight was in the Manchester Test where he scored a century (141) and took a five-wicket haul (5-72).
How does ICC decide whom to choose?
The ICC uses a voting system to decide the Player of the Month. The three nominees in each category are selected based on their performance during the month. Then the ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world vote on the shortlist. The ICC Voting Academy includes cricket journalists, former players, broadcasters and ICC Hall of Fame members. The Academy’s votes count for 90% and fan votes for 10%. The winners are announced on ICC’s digital platforms during the second week of the month.
