Shubman Gill and Shafali Verma have won the ICC Player of the Month awards for September 2026, giving India both the men’s and women’s honours.
The ICC announced the results on October 13. Gill collected his fifth monthly award, while Verma secured her second.
Gill’s successful run chases
The ICC highlighted Gill’s performances in India’s ODI series against the West Indies, including a century followed by 223 from 133 balls in a successful chase of 406. His latest award extends his men’s record and brings him level with Hayley Matthews’ total of five.
Verma’s impact in two tournaments
Verma was recognised for her contributions in the Women’s Asia Cup and the Asian Games. The ICC cited 360 Asia Cup runs at a strike rate of 184.61, alongside six wickets. At the Asian Games, she made an unbeaten century in the semifinal against Bangladesh and 48 in the final against Sri Lanka.
A double success, with a specific assessment period
The awards concern performances during September, even though the announcement came in October. They should not be confused with an annual award or a rating of a player’s entire career.
That timing is useful for readers following a busy cricket calendar: matches played after the assessment month do not change which period these honours recognise.
How the winners were selected
The ICC said a specialist panel and registered global fans voted for the winners. The announcement therefore reflects an awards process rather than a new team ranking or a tournament result.
For India, the two honours draw attention to success across the men’s and women’s game. The performances also underline why headline batting figures benefit from match context: a score in a run chase or a knockout match explains a different part of a player’s contribution from a monthly aggregate alone.
The accompanying photograph shows Gill at a public event in 2023. It is a credited file image and does not depict him receiving this month’s award.
Image credit and usage
File photo: Shubman Gill at the Global Peace Honours event, November 26, 2023; not the 2026 ICC awards. Photo: Bollywood Hungama / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Resized/cropped for display; original watermark retained. Original image and provenance · Licence / usage terms.
The Sports Desk covers cricket, the Asian Games and Indian and international sport. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
