Dubai, Oct 13 (Agency) Chamari Athapaththu is the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for September 2023 after inspiring Sri Lanka to a historic series triumph over England.The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday revealed the ICC Women’s Player of the Monthaward recipient for September 2023 following an action-packed month of cricket.Athapaththu beat out South Africa pair Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk to earn the award after an outstanding month that included leading Sri Lanka to a stunning series victory.The Sri Lanka Women’s captain starred as her side claimed their first-ever series win over Englandin any format when coming out on top in two of their three Women’s T20I clashes.
Athapaththu was named player of the series for compiling 114 runs and taking five wickets as Sri Lanka started the month with the two critical Women’s T20I wins against England, an ICC reportsaid. The all-rounder was pivotal to the pair of victories with scores of 55 and 44 against England, along with bowling figures of 1/11 and 3/21.Athapaththu was also among the runs at the Women’s Asia Cup later in September as Sri Lanka faced Thailand, Pakistan and India.In total the 33-year-old amassed 208 runs at an average of 26 across five WT20I innings and three WODIs in September. The off-spinner also took five wickets for the month at an average of 26.6 across the white-ball formats. The left-handed batter is currently No.3 in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, and No.7 in the Women’s T20I Batting Rankings.