New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced Australia batter Travis Head as the ICC Player of the Month for November 2023. The recognition came after his exceptional performances in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 triumph.
Travis Head prevailed in defeating two stellar performers including India's prolific pacer Mohammed Shami and his teammate, and a gun all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the award.
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A #CWC23 hero has been crowned the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for November 2023 🔥
— ICC (@ICC) December 11, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">A #CWC23 hero has been crowned the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for November 2023 🔥
— ICC (@ICC) December 11, 2023A #CWC23 hero has been crowned the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for November 2023 🔥
— ICC (@ICC) December 11, 2023
The 29-year-old made an outstanding comeback after suffering a thumb injury in South Africa with days to start the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. There were also some speculations on Travis Head’s selection for the marquee tournament, but Cricket Australia and skipper Pat Cummins showed immense faith in his skills and his ability to win matches single-handedly and he did it exactly.
After recovering from the injury, Travis Head smashed a blistering century against New Zealand in the league match in Dharamshala and then guided Australia to a six-wicket win to clinch their six-title. Head was the Player of the Match in the final and it was due to his blistering hundred that Australia defeated favourites India in a lop-sided match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
"I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key," Head was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the ICC.
"It's a great honour to be recognized with this award, but it is a team effort. Without my team-mates across all formats, this wouldn't have happened; so these types of awards are as much for them as they are for me,” Head added.
The aggressive southpaw won the Player of the Match award in both, the semi-final against rampaging South Africa and then against hosts India in the summit clash. Head appeared in six matches of the tournament and amassed 329 runs including a quick-fire 62 in the semi-final and 137 runs in the final match. He also picked two crucial wickets of Henrich Klassen and Marco Jansen in the semi-final with his off-spin at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
He is as terrific a fielder as his batting, which he showcased by taking a backward running catch of India's in-form skipper Rohit Sharma, who went all guns blazing from ball one in the final of the tournament.
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