Noman Ali among nominees for ICC Men's Player of the Month Award

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday, unveiled the nominees for the Men’s Player of the Month Award for January 2025, including Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali.

The left-arm spinner faces stiff competition from West Indies’ Jomel Warrican and India’s Varun Chakravarthy – the other two nominated players – who delivered stellar performances that led their respective sides to historic victories.

Noman, who enjoyed a dream run in Pakistan’s home Test against England last year in October, continued his exceptional form at home and served as the team’s main attacking bowler in their recently-concluded two-match series against West Indies.

He picked up six wickets for 81 runs in Pakistan’s 127-run victory in the opening Test, while his best came out in the subsequent fixture, where he picked up a total of 10 wickets.

Noman Ali registered a six-wicket haul in the first innings, including a historic hat-trick, which was the first by a Pakistani spinner in the longest format.

The left-arm spinner took four more wickets in the second innings to round up brilliant match figures of 10/121.

He picked up a total of 16 wickets at an average of 12.62 and scored 15 runs in January.

West Indies’ Warrican, who delivered his career-best performance in the aforementioned series, was also nominated for the prestigious award.

Warrican was the standout performer with the ball for the West Indies as he registered magnificent bowling figures of 10/101, coupled with an unbeaten 31-run knock in the opening fixture.

He was equally impressive in the second Test, where he picked up nine wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings and played a pivotal role in leading his side to a historic victory over Pakistan.

Overall, Warrican picked up 19 wickets at an exceptional average of just nine, besides scoring 85 runs at an average of 42.50. He was also adjudged the player of the series.

On the other hand, India’s Chakravarthy, who was a key component in their 4-1 home T20I series victory over England, extended his brilliant form to January.

The mystery spinner picked up 12 wickets at an average of 9.41 and an exceptional economy rate of 7.01.