Varun Chakaravarthy doesn’t win ICC Player of the Month; West Indies and Australia players bag prestigious award for January 2024

West Indies spinner Jomel Warrican staved off stiff competition from fellow spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Noman Ali to be crowned as ICC Men's Player of the Month for January 2024. The left-arm tweaker had a memorable Test series in Pakistan, picking up 19 wickets in two Tests at an average of just nine.

Warrican picked up nine wickets in West Indies' 120-run win in the second Test in Multan. He recorded career-best figures of 7-32 in the series opener at the same venue. His efforts helped the Men in Maroon etch a 1-1 series result, preventing them from finishing at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.

“It’s an honor to win this award. One of my goals for this year was my first five-for in Test cricket, but I did not think that it would be this grand! I see this as one small step in my cricketing career, and I look forward to many more. I promised my captain something special in this series, especially when my father, my biggest supporter, predicted a phenomenal performance for me," Warrican told the ICC after the award win.

On the other hand, Australia wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney was crowned the ICC Women's Player of the Month for her sparkling Ashes campaign, which included a maiden Test hundred.

Recently conferred with the Women's T20 Player of the Year during the Cricket Australia Awards, the southpaw scored a fifty in the third ODI. She then recorded two fifties in the T20I series before her historic ton in Melbourne in the one-off Test.

"It’s an honour to be named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month and I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. January was an incredible month for the Australian Women’s Cricket Team. Winning the Ashes in front of a home crowd was very special and to complete the series playing in the first ever day-night Test at the MCG in front of a record crowd for a Women’s Test is a moment that we will all never forget," Mooney said in a statement by the ICC.

Beth Mooney was nominated for the award with West Indies spinner Karishma Ramharack, and India's 2024 U-19 T20 World Cup star Trisha Gongadi.

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Varun Chakravarthy failed to land the ICC Player of the Month award despite taking 14 wickets in the T20I series against England

The Indian mystery spinner was crowned the Player of the Series for his stellar efforts in the five-match T20I affair against England. He was primed as one of the favorites to win the award after bagging 14 wickets in five matches at an average of 9.85.

Despite not winning the award, Chakravarthy's recent efforts have rewarded him with a maiden call-up to the ODI squad. He even made his debut in the second match of the series against England in Cuttack, replacing Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. He had an average outing, returning with figures of 1/54 in 10 overs.