Mandhana named women's cricketer of the year; Harmanpreet appointed captain of world T20I team

ICC awards for top female players of 2018: Smriti Mandhana was adjudged the cricketer of the year and the ODI player of the year.

Just like the men, the India women’s team players too ruled the ICC accolades. India’s Smriti Mandhana was named both the 'Women's Cricketer of the Year' and the 'Women's ODI Player of the Year' by ICC on New Year’s eve while Harmanpreet Kaur was appointed the captain of T20I women’s team of the year.

Left-handed opener Mandhana won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the 'Women's Cricketer of the Year' for scoring 669 runs in 12 ODIs along with 622 runs in 25 T20 Internationals in 2018.

Her ODI runs were scored at an average of 66.90 while strike-rate for T20I was an impressive 130.67.

Mandhana played a crucial role in India's semi-final appearance at the Women's World T20 in the West Indies, where she scored 178 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of 125.35.

She is currently ranked fourth in the ODI rankings and 10th in the rankings for T20Is, the ICC said in a statement.

Mandhana became only the second India woman player to win an ICC award after fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who was named the ICC Player of the Year in 2007.

Reacting to the news, a delighted Mandhana said: "...when you get acknowledged for your performances through these awards, it motivates you to work harder and do well for your team.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated Mandhana, saying: "Smriti enthralled fans with some wonderful performances in what was a memorable year for women's cricket, with the ICC Women's World T20 helping build on the momentum of last year's World Cup."

Australia's opening batter and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, who came up with some superb performances and finished with 225 runs in six matches at the Women's World T20 in the West Indies, has been named the ICC Women's T20I Player of the Year.

Mandhan was also named in the ODI and T20I teams of the year. Her teammate and India’s T20I captain Harmanpreet has been appointed as the captain of the T20I team while New Zealand’s Suzie Bates has been given the honours to lead the ODI team.

The ODI and T20 sides were selected by a voting academy, which has former players like Lisa Sthalekar, Charlotte Edwards, Anjum Chopra and members of the media, and took into consideration performances in the 2018 calendar year.

Harmanpreet has been rewarded for spearheading India to the semifinals of the ICC Women's World T20 2018 in the West Indies in November.

"In that tournament, (Harmanpreet) Kaur scored 183 runs at a strike-rate of 160.5, while in the 25 matches in the calendar year, she accumulated 663 runs at a strike-rate of 126.2. Kaur is ranked third in the MRF Tyres ICC Women's Player Rankings for T20I Batters," the ICC said in a statement.

The 29-year-old Harmanpreet said she was surprised to have been named the captain of the World T20 XI.  

"To be honest, it was really surprising for me. The last two years we did not get enough T20I matches to play and it was really tough for me to build that confidence in the team and show that self-belief that we can do well in T20Is. Credit goes to all team members, the way they worked hard and show that self-belief," Kaur said.

Apart from Mandhana and Harmanpreet, leg-spinner Poonam Yadav was the other Indian in the teams of 2018. Harmanpreet however, did not find a place in the ODI team of the year.

ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Smriti Mandhana (India), Tammy Beaumont (England), Suzie Bates (New Zealand; captain), Dane van Niekerk (South Africa), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Alyssa Healy (Australia; wk),  Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Sana Mir (Pakistan), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Poonam Yadav (India).

ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year (in batting order): Smriti Mandhana (India), Alyssa Healy (Australia; wk), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Harmanpreet Kaur (India; captain), Natalie Sciver (England), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Leigh Kasperek (New Zealand), Megan Schutt (Australia), Rumana Ahmed (Bangladesh), Poonam Yadav (India).