Marco Jansen of South Africa and India's Deepti Sharma have been named the ICC Men's and Women's Players of the Month for October 2026, with both all-rounders delivering standout performances across formats during the period.

Jansen, 26, was exceptional with both bat and ball throughout October, accumulating 198 runs and claiming 13 wickets across the series against Australia. In the second Test at Gqeberha, he returned match figures of 5/33 and 1/34 while also contributing 85 with the bat, helping South Africa push hard in the ICC World Test Championship context. Australia ultimately won that Test series 2-1.

Jansen's October form lifted him to number one in both the ICC Test Bowling Rankings and the ICC All-rounder Rankings, making him the first South African to top the bowling list since Kagiso Rabada in 2024 and the first to lead the all-rounders' list since Vernon Philander did so in August 2014.

Sharma's October was equally impressive across India's home assignments against Zimbabwe. She scored 106 in the ICC Women's Championship ODI series and supported that batting contribution with five wickets at an economy rate of 3.42 across the same series. India swept the ODI leg 3-0. In the T20I series that followed, Sharma struck 49 off 37 balls and added two more wickets with her off-spin, with India completing another 3-0 sweep.

Jansen was shortlisted alongside West Indies captain Shai Hope and Pakistan's Arafat Minhas for the men's award, while Sharma was nominated alongside Australia's Annabel Sutherland and Bangladesh's Sobhana Mostary for the women's honour.

"Winning the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award is a great honour for me, particularly after such a competitive series against Australia. It was one of the most memorable series of my career, and being able to contribute to the team’s success made it even more special. To receive this recognition as well is something I’m incredibly proud of. “Individual recognition is always rewarding, but cricket is a team sport and this achievement is testament to the support of my teammates and the work of our support staff, who have backed us throughout. We grateful to them all, and our focus now is on building on this momentum as we continue our push to reach the ICC World Test Championship Final next year," said Jansen as quoted by ICC.

What did Sharma say about her women's award?

Sharma's all-round contributions were central to India's clean sweeps of Zimbabwe in both the ODI and T20I series during October, and her century in the Championship ODI series stood out as a highlight of the month for the Indian women's side.

"I’m pleased to win the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award. The series against Zimbabwe was a great one for us, and I’m proud of the way the team performed, especially the youngsters. Scoring a century was a particularly special moment for me, made even more meaningful as it contributed to a winning cause," said Deepti.

"I would like to thank the voting panel and fans for this recognition, as well as my teammates and coaches for their continued support. I would like to dedicate this award to my fans across the world," she added.

This is Sharma's second ICC Women's Player of the Month award, having previously won the honour in December 2023, underlining her continued importance to the Indian women's setup.