India all-rounder Washington Sundar has been nominated for the ICC ‘Player of the month’ award for July alongside England's Gus Atkinson and Charlie Cassell of Scotland.
After years of perseverance and battling injuries, Washington appears to have finally established himself on the international firmament.
He was part of a youthful Indian squad that toured Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series. With the regular players resting after their World Cup victory, the 24-year-old stepped up and emerged as the team's leading spin-bowling all-rounder, proving his worth and justifying the faith placed in him.
Washington was one of the few bright spots in India's unexpected loss in the first T20I, delivering impressive bowling figures of 2/11 and contributing 27 runs to keep the visitors in the game, though they ultimately fell 13 runs short in a chase of 115.
He played a pivotal role in India's comeback, helping the team turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 series victory by taking six more wickets across the remaining four matches.
He was named ‘Player of the Match’ in the third game for his outstanding figures of 3/15 and earned the Player of the Series title after finishing with the joint-most wickets (eight).
With the regulars back for the Sri Lanka series, Washington's appearance was limited to just one match but he made the most of that opportunity, earning the ‘Player of the Match’ award following a thrilling Super Over.
In what could be a passing of the torch moment at Lord's, Atkinson made his scintillating Test debut in what was James Anderson's farewell international match.
The pacer made a fantastic first impression in his first Test, bagging 12 wickets, which included a five-for in each innings. He ran through the West Indies batting order to record incredible figures of 7/45 in the first innings, bundling out the visitors for just 121.
The 26-year-old followed up the initial heroics with yet another five-wicket haul (5/61) as England recorded an innings win by 114 runs.
Cassell stole the spotlight in his ODI debut against Oman in Dundee.
He made an unforgettable first impression, claiming a remarkable seven-wicket haul (7/21) and breaking Kagiso Rabada's nine-year-old record (6/16) for the best bowling figures on ODI debut.
His dream start was highlighted by two wickets off his first two deliveries in international cricket.
By the 18th over, the right-arm pacer had already achieved a five-wicket haul, and he continued to dismantle the tail end to finish with figures of 7/21.
Cassell's performance was not only a record-breaking debut but also ranked as the seventh-best bowling figures in ODI history, bettered only by Andy Bichel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Rashid Khan, Glenn McGrath, Shahid Afridi and Chaminda Vaas.
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