Bangladesh batter Nazmul Hossain Shanto has been nominated for the International Cricket Council Men's Player of the Month award for May 2023.
ICC in a media release Tuesday revealed Shanto as a candidate along with Pakistan skipper and holder of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (awarded to the Men's Cricketer of the Year), Babar Azam for his performances at the latter end of his side's series victory over New Zealand.
The final candidate in line for the award is Ireland's Harry Tector, who continued his fine international form against Bangladesh, albeit in a losing cause.
Left-handed batter Shanto has been shortlisted for the first time following a prolific spell of run-scoring as his team triumphed over Ireland.
Bangladesh and Ireland played out the final series in the ICC Super League during the month, and Shanto claimed the Player of the Series award for 196 runs across the tourists' hard-fought 2-0 sweep.
Sandwiched between 44 runs in the abandoned first one-day international and 35 in the final match, Shanto was the principal catalyst in a memorable last-over triumph in the second fixture, scoring a brilliant 117 in 93 balls which helped them chase down an improbable 320 in Chelmsford after a slow start.
The nominees are shortlisted based on performances from the first to the last day of each calendar month.
The shortlist is then voted on by the independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world.
The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity including well-known journalists, former players, broadcasters and members of the ICC Hall of Fame.
The Voting Academy submit their votes by email and hold a 90% share of the vote.
Fans registered with the ICC can vote via the ICC website, accounting for the remaining 10%.
Winners are announced every second Monday of the month on ICC's digital channels.
Fans registered at icc-cricket.com/awards will be able to vote for their favorite performers until next Saturday.