It is his first win of the award, decided by a fan vote and a panel of former players and media representatives.

The 26-year-old scored 198 runs and took 13 wickets in October, with his left-arm pace and his batting both central to South Africa’s World Test Championship series against Australia.

His best Test came in the second match in Gqeberha, where he made 85 and took 5-33 and 1-34.

South Africa won that Test by an innings and 31 runs and went on to take the series 2-1.

Those performances lifted him to number one in both the ICC Test bowling and all-rounder rankings. He replaced Mitchell Starc as the top bowler and Ravindra Jadeja as the top all-rounder.

He is the first South African bowler at number one since Kagiso Rabada in 2024, and the first South African all-rounder since Vernon Philander in August 2014.

He beat Pakistan’s Arafat Minhas and West Indies captain Shai Hope, who were also shortlisted.

A Proud Moment For #TheProteas All-Rounder! 👏

Marco Jansen has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for October 2026, following his outstanding performances in the Proteas’ memorable Test series victory over Australia! 😤🇿🇦

Congratulations, Marco! 🙌

#Unbreakable https://t.co/dPJYWpJUoo

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 13, 2026

India’s Deepti Sharma won the women’s award for a second time after her all-round displays against Zimbabwe. Her first came in December 2023.

She hit 106 not out and took five wickets in the ODIs.