New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Rising India left-arm spinner N Sree Charani has been nominated for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for June 2026, following a spectacular individual campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

The young left-arm spinner is joined on the shortlist by Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce and England’s veteran opener batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge. While India’s tournament campaign came to an end in the group stages, Charani emerged as the silver lining, finishing the marquee event as its leading wicket-taker.

Charani spun a web around batting lineups to pick 14 wickets in just six T20Is at a remarkable average of 11 and a highly impressive economy rate of 6.69. She picked up at least two wickets in all five of India’s Group 1 encounters. Her tournament-defining spells included standout figures of 3-21 against arch-rivals Pakistan, a lethal 4-19 against the Netherlands, and a masterful 3-24 against South Africa.

For the monthly honour, Charani faces stiff competition from Danni, who enjoyed a prolific month at the top of the order. She amassed 287 runs in six T20Is at an astronomical average of 71.75 and a strike rate of 151.85.

She finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer and scripted history by becoming the first woman to breach the 300-run mark in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, ending with 302 runs.

Her tournament highlights included a blazing, unbeaten 105 against Sri Lanka, 65 against the West Indies, and a match-winning 89 not out that knocked out defending champions New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Kathryn makes the cut on the back of her supreme all-round capabilities. She was instrumental in leading Scotland to a home tri-series triumph over Bangladesh and the Netherlands in the run-up to the T20 World Cup.

She accumulated 178 runs at a strike rate of 140.15 and picked up 11 wickets in June. In the T20 World Cup, she spearheaded Scotland’s campaign, notably scoring a commanding 60 in their opening match against Ireland.

–IANS

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