ICC name nominees for Players of the Month nominees for December 2023

The ICC has revealed the six nominees who are in contention to win the Player of the Month award for December 2023. The three male cricketers announced are Australia skipper Pat Cummins, Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand for his invaluable knock in the second Test against Bangladesh.

The women’s candidates are India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma along with Zimbabwe’s Precious Marange.

Reports: Shami to miss the first two England Tests

According to reports, Mohammed Shami is yet to recover from an ankle injury that also bothered him during his record-breaking World Cupcampaign. He was advised by the BCCI to rest following the event and missed the two Tests in South Africa as well as a result. The first Test against England begins on January 25.

Reports: Suryakumar Yadav could miss majority of the IPL due to surgery

Suryakumar, who recently twisted his ankle in the third T20I against South Africa, will undergo surgery for a sports hernia, which could rule him out for at least two weeks. According to reports, he will be operated on in Germany later this month and will then need at least eight to nine weeks before he starts healing. Suryakumar is, thus, expected to not only miss the domestic first-class season but also a part of the IPL that will likely begin in the last week of March.

Harmanpreet Kaur criticised for post-match comments about Shreyanka Patil

Australia Women needed 15 runs from the last two overs to win the second T20I against India, with young Shreyanka Patil entrusted with bowling the penultimate over. She conceded two fours in the first three balls and then a six as Australia won the clash with an over to spare.

After the game, skipper Harmanpreet remarked that the result could have been different if Shreyanka, playing her fifth T20I, had been more accurate: “[While Bowling] we were getting those opportunities and taking wickets in the middle, that’s a positive. If Shreyanka was on target in the 19th over, things would have been different but these close games help to identify areas to improve.”

Delhi change Ranji skipper after one match

Following Delhi’s embarrassing defeat to Pondicherry in their 2023/24 opener in the Ranji Trophy, skipper Yash Dhull has been sacked by the DDCA. Himmat Singh, who has played 22 first-class games since his debut in 2017, has been named the captain for the rest of the season instead.