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Shafali Verma nominated for ICC player of the month award; Decoding how India star made the cut

Abhinav Tyagi

Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur - (Source: AFP)Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur - (Source: AFP)

On Friday, December 5, the ICC revealed three nominees for the Women's Player of the Month award in November. The International Cricket Council recognised the efforts of India opener Shafali Verma, UAE Esha Oza and Thipatcha Putthawong (Thailand). 

Talking about Shafali Verma, the India opener featured in just a solitary game in November, which was the World Cup final, where she slammed a brilliant 87 runs off 78 balls and picked up two crucial wickets.

Talking about the other nominees, Esha Oza showed during the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy. She amassed  187 runs at a strike rate of 137.50 and also took seven wickets that helped her team reach the final. 

Despite the title going to Thailand women, Oza won the player of the tournament award for her performance. Meanwhile, Thipatcha Putthawong helped her side win the ICC Emerging Nations trophy and was the team's leading run-getter with 15 wickets.

Now, the fans are curious as to how Shafali Verma got to the nominee list, as there is no doubting that she was spectacular in the final, but making it to the list with just one performance raised eyebrows.

Meanwhile, this article will shed light on whether Shafali deserved the nomination and also look at noticeable names who could have been on the list.

Decoding how November went for Women's cricket

Interestingly, no full-member nation played any sort of bilateral series in the month of November, which is why Shafali Verma has found herself on the list. 

There was a women's quadrangular series, the Canada women's tour to Tanzania and also the ICC Emerging Nations Trophy. Besides these three series, there wasn't much cricket that happened in the past month. 

Noticeable names missing from the list

1. Deepti Sharma

The first and foremost name that should have been there if World Cup final performances are getting rewarded is Deepti Sharma. The India all-rounder had a blast of a tournament, where she was the player of the tournament for her heroics with the bat and the ball. 

Notably, in the final, Deepti scored a valuable run-a-ball 58 and was Women in Blue's second-best batter. Further, the 28-year-old also shone with the ball and picked up a crucial five-wicket haul and registered the figures of 5/39 in her 9.3 overs.

2. Laura Wolvaardt

South Africa couldn't seal the win in the finals but the Proteas women had Laura Wolvaardt who kept the hopes alive. Laura, who opened the innings, scored a valuable 101 (98) which kept her team's hopes alive till the last. 

Wolvaardt scored 11 fours and a solitary six to nearly stun India at their own home ground. 

Final Verdict

Since there was no women's cricket in the month of November, it is fair to have Shafali Verma in the top-three nominees. It was her innings that set the tone of the match and kept them ahead in the final. However, the efforts of Deepti Sharm and Laura Wolvaardt can't be ignored as well.