Abhishek Sharma, 2 Other Indians Nominated For September's ICC Player Of The Month

Smriti Mandhana, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Brian Bennett, Sidra Amin, and Tazmin Brits are ICC Player of the Month nominees for stellar performances in September.

Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana, Kuldeep Yadav, and Abhishek Sharma have been nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Player of the Month award for September.

Left-handed opener Abhishek was in brilliant form in India’s 2025 T20 Asia Cup-winning campaign in the UAE, scoring 314 runs in seven T20Is, including three half-centuries with a staggering strike rate of 200. He was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. The Punjab youngster cemented his place at the top of the ICC men’s T20I rankings by achieving the highest batting rating ever recorded — 931 points.

Wrist spinner Kuldeep, meanwhile, also enjoyed a purple patch in the UAE in helpful conditions, showing how important he could be for the country’s white-ball teams despite rarely getting a chance in red-ball cricket. He was the top wicket-taker with 17 scalps at an economy rate of 6.27, kicking off the tournament with figures of 4/7 against the UAE and finishing with 4/30 in the summit clash against rivals Pakistan.

Women’s ODI vice-captain Mandhana also earned the Player of the Series award against the world’s best side, Australia, in the closely-contested three-match ODI series in India last month. Overall, the left-handed opener scored 308 runs in four ODIs in September at an average of 77 and a strike rate of 135.68. This included two centuries, which leveled her in the world record for most WODI tons (now she’s second) in a calendar year.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett was the third nominee for the men’s cricketer award after scoring 497 runs in nine T20Is, maintaining an average of 55.22 and a strike rate of 165.66 in the month.

Bennett led the scoring charts in series against Sri Lanka and Namibia, and continued his form into the T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final with innings of 72, 65, and 111. His remarkable batting helped Zimbabwe secure qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

For the women’s award, Pakistan opener Sidra Amin and South Africa’s Tazmin Brits are the other two nominees. Brits has been in stellar form, scoring four centuries in her last five ODI innings, while Amin has two centuries and as many half-centuries in her last four ODIs.

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