India all-rounder Deepti Sharma is in the running for the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for October 2026. The International Cricket Council announced the shortlists on Thursday, November 5, with Deepti joining Bangladesh's Sobhana Mostary and Australia's Annabel Sutherland in the women's category. The men's list features South Africa's Marco Jansen, Pakistan's Arafat Minhas and West Indies captain Shai Hope, who did much of his damage against India.
The winners will be revealed in the second week of November.
Why Deepti Sharma made the cut
Deepti's nomination rests on a commanding display in India's home ODI series against Zimbabwe, part of the ICC Women's Championship. India swept the series 3-0, and Deepti was at the heart of it. She batted only once, but made it count with an unbeaten 106 in the second ODI in Vadodara, her second century in the format.
With the ball, her off-spin brought her five wickets across the series at an economy rate of 3.42, which meant Zimbabwe's batters struggled to score freely whenever she bowled. Before the ODIs, she also chipped in with 49 off 37 balls and two wickets in the three-match T20I series.
It is the kind of all-round month that has made Deepti one of the most valuable players in Indian women's cricket over the last decade.
The other women's nominees
Sobhana Mostary (Bangladesh) produced a career-defining knock of 118 off 134 balls in the second ODI against Australia in Brisbane, the highest score by a Bangladesh woman against Australia. She finished the series with 129 runs at a strike rate of 73.71.
Annabel Sutherland (Australia) was key to her team's 3-0 ODI win over Bangladesh. She scored 99 runs at a strike rate of 132 and took six wickets, including 4/30 in the opening game and an unbeaten 74 in the third.
The men's shortlist
Marco Jansen (South Africa) had a monster month, with 198 runs and 13 wickets. In the second Test against Australia he scored 85 and took 5/33 and 1/34. He rose to No. 1 in both the ICC Test bowling and all-rounder rankings, the first South African to top the all-rounders' list since Vernon Philander in 2014.
Arafat Minhas (Pakistan), the 21-year-old left-arm spinning all-rounder, was Player of the Series as Pakistan won a home tri-series against Sri Lanka and England. He scored 149 runs and took nine wickets, including 6/40 and a fifty against England.
Shai Hope (West Indies) will be a familiar name to Indian fans for the wrong reasons. The West Indies captain struck three unbeaten centuries against India in October, including 162 not out in the final ODI in New Chandigarh, and T20I hundreds in Ranchi and Hyderabad. He scored 261 runs in the five-match T20I series at a strike rate above 190.
October 2026 nominees at a glance
| Deepti Sharma (India) | 106* and 5 wickets vs Zimbabwe |
| Sobhana Mostary (Bangladesh) | 118 vs Australia in Brisbane |
| Annabel Sutherland (Australia) | 99 runs, 6 wickets vs Bangladesh |
| Marco Jansen (South Africa) | 198 runs, 13 wickets; No. 1 Test bowler |
| Arafat Minhas (Pakistan) | 149 runs, 9 wickets in tri-series |
| Shai Hope (West Indies) | Three unbeaten tons vs India |
How the winner is chosen
- Nominees are picked based on performances from the first to the last day of the month.
- An ICC Voting Academy of journalists, former players, broadcasters and Hall of Famers casts its votes by email. This counts for 90% of the result.
- Fans who register with the ICC can vote on the ICC website's awards page. Fan votes count for the remaining 10%.
- The men's and women's winners are announced in the second week of the following month.
What it means for Indian fans
A win for Deepti would be a fitting reward for her consistency and a boost for the women's team as it continues its ICC Women's Championship campaign. On the men's side, Indian fans will have mixed feelings, since Hope's nomination is built largely on runs scored against India's bowlers. For now, fans can back Deepti through the ICC's fan vote before the results are announced next week.
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