Sri Lanka National Cricket Team all-rounder Dunith Wellalage has been named the ICC Player of the Month for August. The young cricketer defeated South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj and West Indies’ Jayden Seales to secure the award.
Dunith Wellalage won the award for his all-round show in the ODI series Indian National Cricket Team. His effort with both bat and ball was one of the main reasons why the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team won the ODI series against a Rohit Sharma-led side for the first time since 1997.
Dunith Wellalage troubled the Indians with his sensational bowling skills as he spun the net around the wickets. Not only that, he also played important knocks for his team in the order, which helped him put the winning total on the board in the three-match ODI series between the teams.
Dunith Wellalage played a magnificent knock of a career-best 67* and picked the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in the first ODI with the ball to help Sri Lanka draw the game. In the second game, he came up with another sensational try.
Wellalage played a handy knock of 39 in the second ODI which helped Sri Lanka to a comprehensive win. Although he was unable to go with the bat in the third game, he provided an outstanding effort with the ball and helped his team win.
The all-rounder took career-best figures of 5/27. He went on to eliminate Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer in his spell. In total, in the entire series, he scored 108 runs and picked seven wickets which helped the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team to a famous victory.
This recognition gives me more strength to keep up the good work – Dunith Wellalage
Dunith Wellalage spoke about winning the ICC Player of the Month award, saying that winning the trophy gave him the strength to keep up the good work. He pointed out that the recognition by the ICC will also encourage other young players. He noted:
“This recognition gives me more strength to continue the good work I have done as a player and contribute to my team to achieve excellence in this field. I want to thank my teammates, parents, friends and relatives for being confident in my achievement. It will give them great satisfaction. , because they have supported me throughout.
“This kind of recognition from the International Cricket Council is great news for young players like us and will no doubt encourage young players in the game.”
In terms of ICC Women’s Player of the Month, Sri Lanka’s Harshitha Madavi edged out Irish duo Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis to win the award. He received the award after his performances with the bat in the ODI and T20I series against Ireland.
He scored 86* and 65 from two T20I matches and ended the series as the leading run-getter. In ODIs, he scored 19, 105 and 48* and again finished as the leading run-scorer. He also became the third player from Sri Lanka to score a ton in ODIs.
On winning the award, he said it was a new high in his career and it boosted his confidence ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. He elaborated:
“I am very happy with this recognition, which I consider a new peak in my career. It certainly gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the big competition, the Women’s T20 World Cup,” she said.
