The budding talent of Sri Lanka won August 2024’s ICC Women’s Player of the Month award.
The Irish team of Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis faced opposition, but Harshitha Madavi prevailed to be named the August 2024 ICC Women’s Player of the Month. The gifted left-handed top-order batsman has been getting better lately, and in August she displayed even more impressive form against Ireland.
Remarkably, three of the previous four champions, including Chamari Athapaththu, who won in both May and July, are from Sri Lanka.
With Madavi’s victory, Sri Lanka now has two winners in August 2024: Dunith Wellalage, who won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month title. With Athapaththu having won in May and July, this is the island nation’s third woman’s prize for 2024.
“Harshitha of Sri Lanka is the ICC Women’s Player of the Month.”
Throughout the tour’s ODI and T20I legs, the southpaw dominated Ireland and amassed some incredible runs.
After winning the Women’s Asia Cup final against India with an unbeaten 69*, Madavi upped her game when she got to Dublin. She finished the two-match series as both sides’ top run scorer with 86*, a career-best effort, and 65 from the two T20I matches.
In the extended white-ball format, Madavi maintained her productive streak. She scored runs of 19, 105, and 48* in the three-match ODI series against the Irish, securing her position as the top run scorer once more. She became just the third player from Sri Lanka to record an ODI century with her century in the second ODI match, following Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne.
According to Madavi, winning the prize represents a high point in her playing career thus far.
This honour, which I view as a new professional high, makes me very delighted. It undoubtedly boosts my confidence in front of the major tournament—the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Without my amazing support system, which includes my teammates, coaches, parents, sister, brother, friends, and mentors, I could not have accomplished this. I would want to thank everyone of them now.
“I would also want to express my gratitude to the players that shared my nomination for the Player of the Month honour. They are really gifted, and it was a pleasure to compete against them.
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