Arshdeep, Renuka in line for ICC Emerging Cricketer honour

India left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was on Wednesday nominated for the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year honour alongside Marco Jansen, Finn Allen and Ibrahim Zadran.

Voting for the award will begin in January, said the ICC in a release.

Arshdeep has made the shortlist less than six months after making his international debut.

In 21 T20 Internationals, the lanky pacer took 33 wickets at an average of 18.12, providing breakthroughs, both with the new and old ball.

Building on a strong IPL career, India's national setup took on the left-arm quick, and he made the most of the chance with the team looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2021 T20 World Cup.

Arshdeep was also handed an ODI cap on India's recent tour of New Zealand, and the future looks bright for the 23-year-old.

In a short span of time, Arshdeep came up with memorable performances, including in the high-pressure T20 World Cup game against Pakistan at the MCG.

With swing and pace at his disposal, Arshdeep removed both members of Pakistan's prolific opening pair. He claimed Babar Azam with his first ball lbw, before taking the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan at the end of his next over.

Arshdeep returned at the death to curtail Asif Ali's plans of a late onslaught, finishing with 3/32 from his four-over allotment.

Arshdeep is in contention for the award alongside another left-arm quick, Jansen from South Africa, New Zealand opener Allen and Afghanistan batter Zadran.

Renuka Singh has also been nominated for the prestigious award after the right-arm bowler claimed 40 wickets this year in just 29 matches across the two white-ball formats, thus emerging as a frontrunner to step into Jhulan Goswami's shoes.

The 26-year-old Renuka was especially potent in ODIs, claiming 18 wickets at an average of 14.88.

She troubled the strong Australian line-up in the seven T20I meetings this year, taking eight wickets, while her showing in the Commonwealth Games and the Asia Cup in Dhaka, 17 wickets in 11 games shows she has the big-match temperament, as well.

Yastika Bhatia, with her composed demeanour, performed remarkably in India's middle order throughout the year.

She scored 41 and 31 in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand before going on to score half-centuries against Australia and Bangladesh. The 22-year-old scored 376 ODI runs at an average of 25.06 and had a healthy strike rate of 73.29.