Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana nominated for ICC Women,s Player of the Month Award for June

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 7 July 2021

Shafali Verma, India's teen batting sensation, and all-rounder Sneh Rana, India's all-rounder, were nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for June, following their outstanding performances in the ongoing series against England.

In addition to the Indian duo, England's left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been nominated in the women's category.

Men's nominees include New Zealand batsman Devon Conway and pacer Kyle Jamieson, as well as South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.

Shafali, who had already impressed everyone in the game's shortest format, made a stunning Test debut against England and was named Player of the Match in the Bristol match.

She became India's youngest cricketer to play in a Women's Twenty20 International match in 2019, at the age of 15. She will be the youngest player, male or female, to have represented India in all three formats of international cricket in June 2021.

The flamboyant teenager became the first Indian woman and only the fourth player from any country to score half-centuries in both innings of her debut Test, with 96 and 63.

Her first-inning score was the highest ever by an Indian woman on her debut. She also scored 59 runs in two One-Day Internationals against India at an 85.50 strike rate.

All-rounder Rana also had a memorable Test debut at Bristol, scoring an unbeaten 80 off 154 deliveries to help India avoid defeat against England after being forced to follow on.

Rana made her Test debut for India against England on June 16, 2021. She became the first Indian woman cricketer to take four wickets and score 50 or more runs in her debut match. She contributed to her team's tie by scoring 80* in her second innings.

Earlier in the match, she had four for 131, including well-established opener Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones. She also took one wicket for 43 runs in an ODI against the same team.

In each innings of the Test match, the 22-year-old took four wickets. She also took three wickets in each of the two ODIs that followed later in the month, for a total of six wickets at an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 3.65.