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The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday, September 16 announced Sri Lanka players Dunith Wellalage and Harshitha Samarawickrama as the ICC Players of the Month for August 2024.
Samarawickerama, who edged out the Ireland duo of Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis, had a fine run on a tour of Ireland that saw her become only the third woman cricketer from Sri Lanka to notch a century in ODIs.
The 26-year-old left-hander aggregated 151 runs in the two T20Is played in Dublin at a strike rate of 169.66, which included a match-winning 86 not out off 45 balls in the first match. She scored 172 in three ODIs in Belfast at a strike rate of 82.69 including a knock of 105 in the second match.
Samarawickrama becomes only second Sri Lanka player to win ICC Women's Player of the Month award
Samarawickrama is only the second Sri Lanka player to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award. Captain Chamari Athapaththu has won the award three times – in September 2024, May 2024 and July 2024. Samarawickrama said this recognition was very important since it came less than three weeks before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Harshitha Samarawickrama after being named the Player of the Month, said, "I am extremely happy with this recognition, which I consider a new high in my career. It certainly gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the big competition, the Women's T20 World Cup. This achievement would not have been possible without the incredible support network around me—my teammates, coaches, parents, my sister, brother, friends, and mentors. I take this opportunity to thank them all."
“I also wish to commend the players who were nominated alongside me for the Player of the Month award. They are immensely talented, and I loved competing with such quality," she further added.
(With Inputs from Press Release)
