ICC awards Shubman Gill as 'Player of the Month' for September

 Indian batter Shubman Gill announced the ICC Men's Player of the Month for September 2023 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday.

After accruing 480 ODI runs at an average of 80 in September, Gill overcame fast bowler Mohammed Siraj and England's opener Dawid Malan to win the prize.

Gill scored 302 runs at an average of 75.5 at the Asia Cup, including an unbeaten 27* when India defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets.

With 178 runs in two innings, the right-hand batter was impressive against Australia in the ODI series at home before the World Cup.

He scored a century against Australia (104) in the second of those ODIs, after smashing a ton against Bangladesh (121) during the Asia Cup for two hundreds in September.

Additionally, Gill scored three half-centuries in the previous month and was only out for less than fifty from eight innings on two occasions.

The 24-year-old is ranked No. 2 in the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings and has a remarkable record in ODIs, scoring 1917 runs in 35 games at an average of 66.1 and a strike rate of 102.84.

Gill has missed India's opening matches of the Cricket World Cup due to illness but looms as pivotal to the hosts' chances of lifting the trophy for the first time since 2011.

Reacting to his award win, Gill said as quoted by ICC, "I am delighted to have won the ICC Player of the Month award for the month of September. It's a great privilege to represent India at the international level and contribute towards the team's cause. This award will further motivate me to continue to seek excellence and make the country proud.

"I managed to make a handy contribution towards the team which had the fortune of winning the Asia Cup 2023 and then, follow it up with an ODI series win against Australia in September. I take this opportunity to thank all my teammates, family and the coaches, without whom this achievement would not have been possible."