Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj nominated for ICC Men's Player of the Month Award

Indian duo Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month Award for January 2023. Both Indians have been nominated for the award along with New Zealand opener Devon Conway. The nominations for Gill and Siraj come after successful series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Team India started the year with a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series followed by a clean sweep in the three-match One Day International series. They then faced New Zealand in the three-match ODI series, which they won 3-0, before completing a 2-1 win over the Kiwis in the three-match T20I series.

Indian opener Shubman Gill was particularly exceptional during the month of January, scoring 567 ODI runs at an amazing average of 113.40, while adding 76 runs in T20Is. Interestingly, Shubman scored an unbeaten 126 against New Zealand in the final T20I of the series played on February 1, so he will not be considered for the January cycle. But his best knock of the month came against the Black Caps in the ODI series opener in Hyderabad, where he remained unbeaten on 208 and became only the eighth batsman to reach a double century in ODIs.

Meanwhile, Siraj also had a great start to the year, becoming the number 1 bowler in the ICC Men’s ODI bowler rankings. Siraj stepped up to become India's premier fast bowler in the absence of the injured Jasprit Bumrah. The 28-year-old picked up 14 wickets in five ODIs against Sri Lanka and New Zealand at an average of 10.57, which included hauls of four consecutive wickets.

The two Indians are joined by Conway, who performed very well on New Zealand's tour of India despite the visitors losing both the T20I and ODI series. He was the outstanding batsman in New Zealand's 2–1 win over Pakistan in the three-match ODI series ahead of their tour of India. Conway scored three centuries and two fifties, scoring 493 runs in nine international matches in the month of January.