Last month, the United Arab Emirates won the T20 series against Bangladesh. Despite losing the first match, UAE clinched the series 2-1. The series MVP was none other than their captain, Muhammad Waseem. Across the three matches, Waseem scored two fifties, accumulating 145 runs. In the second match, his crucial 82 runs off 42 balls helped UAE chase down a target of 206. This stellar performance has now put him in contention for ICC’s Player of the Month award.
Waseem has been nominated for the May Player of the Month. His rivals include fellow Associate Nation players—Brendon McCullum from Scotland and Milind Kumar from the USA. If Waseem wins, he will become the first Associate player to receive this honor multiple times.
He first won the Player of the Month award in April last year. Apart from Waseem, only Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane (in September 2021) has won this award from an Associate Nation.
Waseem’s contributions extend beyond the Bangladesh series. Earlier, in five ICC Cricket World Cup League Two ODIs, he scored 169 runs batting in the middle order. During the Bangladesh series, he scored 54 and 82 in the first two matches.
Scotland’s Brendon McCullum has also shown all-round brilliance in League Two. In May, he played 10 ODIs, scoring 233 runs and taking 10 wickets. Notably, he was named Player of the Match against UAE after scoring 101 off 88 balls.
The USA’s Milind Kumar is also in the running thanks to his all-round performance. In four ODIs during May, he scored 201 runs at a strike rate of 116.86 and took 9 wickets. Among his highlights is a 115 off 67 balls against Canada. He also made history against Oman by becoming the first American cricketer to score a fifty and take 5 wickets in the same match.
Other contenders for the May Player of the Month include West Indies’ Hayley Matthews, South Africa’s Chloe Tryon, and India’s Jemima Rodrigues.
