Sri Lanka’s prolific female cricketer – Chamari Athapaththu has been nominated for both ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year and ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year awards.
T20s
Despite encountering an unexpected slump in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Athapaththu was the second-highest run-getter in a calendar year in women’s T20Is. Her 720 runs included two hundreds and four half-centuries, with 86 fours and 32 sixes to her name.
Apart from her exploits with the willow, Athapaththu also picked 21 wickets in the period. Her best with the bat and the ball in T20Is came in 2024.
ODIs
Athapaththu didn’t actually make her first ODI appearance of 2024 until April, but she immediately hit the ground running as she contributed scores of 51 and 195* in a 1-1 series result against South Africa away from home.
The 34-year-old continued with that rich vein of form into the three-match ODI series against the West Indies where she managed 130 runs and four wickets as Sri Lanka completed an emphatic 3-0 series sweep.
An innings of 48 and a three-wicket haul with the ball from Sri Lanka’s final ODI match of the year in Belfast saw Athapaththu end her 2024 on a high in ODI cricket.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan cricketers Wanindu Hasaranga and Kusal Mendis have also been shortlisted for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award for 2024.
