Phillips, Smith, Gill shortlisted for ICC Men's Player of the Month award

New Zealand’s always brilliant in the field Glenn Phillips, Australia’s experienced batter Steve Smith and India’s Shubman Gill were among the run for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for February 2025.

New Zealand’s dynamic all-rounder Phillips faces stiff competition from top-ranked ODI batter Gill and Australia’s veteran Smith.

Famous for his brilliance in the field, Phillips was equally impressive with the bat for New Zealand over the course of the last month, during which he piled up 236 runs in five innings at a brilliant strike rate of 124.21.

He helped New Zealand win the tri-nation ODI series against hosts Pakistan and South Africa as he remained unbeaten in all three matches, scoring 106, 28 and 20, respectively.

Phillips carried his form into the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 and scored an important half-century against the hosts, Pakistan, before playing another unbeaten knock against Bangladesh.

India’s Gill, who recently claimed the top spot in the men’s ODI batting rankings, continued his purple patch as he accumulated 406 runs in five innings at an astounding average of 101.50 and a strike rate of 94.19.

Gill, who was named the player of the series in India’s 3-0 victory at home against England, translated his form into the eight-team tournament and scored a gutsy century against Bangladesh in his side’s campaign opener.

He followed it up with a sensible 46-run knock against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Australia’s batting maestro Steve Smith, who recently called time on his ODI career, was nominated mainly due to his performances in Tests.

Smith shone during the recent two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka, scoring 141 and 131 in two matches with a strike rate of 136.00 and was named the Player of the Series.

His numbers in ODIs, however, are contrasting as he managed to score just 65 runs in four innings at a modest average of 21.66.