Shubman Gill ICC Player of the Month: Fifth Award for September 2026

India captain Shubman Gill was named the ICC men's Player of the Month for September 2026 on 13 October 2026. It is his fifth monthly award, and both sources describe it as a record. The award recognises his batting in the One Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies, including an unbeaten 223 in a chase of 406. India opener Shafali Verma won the women's award for the same month. As of 13 October 2026, the announcement is complete.

Shubman Gill ICC Player of the Month: key facts

• Award: ICC Player of the Month (men's), for September 2026.
• Announced: Tuesday, 13 October 2026. The Hindu's PTI report is datelined Dubai and published at 12:57 pm IST on the same day.
• Count: fifth award. The earlier four were for January 2023, September 2023, February 2025 and July 2025.
• Women's winner: Shafali Verma, for the Asia Cup and the Asian Games.

Event date and publication date

The award concerns performances in September 2026, and it was announced on 13 October 2026. Both supplied reports were published on 13 October 2026, so they are same-day reports on the announcement. They are not reports on the matches themselves.

What Gill did in September 2026

GKToday says the 223 included 26 fours and eight sixes. It reports the following:

• The double-century came in 117 balls, which it calls the fastest in ODI history.
• It was the highest individual score by a captain in a successful ODI chase.
• His century in 62 balls was the fastest by an Indian captain in ODIs.

The Hindu says the chase was completed with eight wickets in hand and 39 balls remaining, and also describes the 223 as the quickest double-century ever. The sources do not give the full series result or the number of matches, so this page does not state them.

Why the record matters

Both sources frame the fifth award as a record. The Hindu says Gill emulated West Indies captain Haley Matthews, who has also won the ICC Player of the Month award five times. GKToday spells her name Hayley Matthews, says her five wins are in the women's category, and presents Gill's total as a record among male recipients. The sources therefore support the record for men's winners and a tie with Matthews's total. They do not support a claim that Gill stands alone above every winner of either gender.

About the ICC awards

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body for cricket. According to GKToday, it introduced the Player of the Month awards in 2021 to recognise international performances in each calendar month, with separate men's and women's categories. The Hindu names Abhishek Sharma and Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza among the men's short-listed players. It names Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu and India left-arm spinner Sree Charani among the women's. The shortlist details are not otherwise expanded in the evidence.

Shafali Verma's women's award

Shafali Verma, aged 22, won the women's award for the Asia Cup and the Asian Games. According to The Hindu:

• She was India's highest run-scorer as India won the Women's Asia Cup.
• She scored 360 runs at a strike rate of 184.61 and took six wickets in that period.
• At the Asian Games she scored 100 not out against Bangladesh in the semifinal and 48 in the final against Sri Lanka.
• She had previously won the award in November 2025, after her match-winning knock in the World Cup final against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.

Scheduled event: ICC Women's Champions Trophy

In the report, Shafali Verma looks ahead to the ICC Women's Champions Trophy in February next year. From the 13 October 2026 publication date, that means February 2027. It is a scheduled future event and has not taken place. The evidence gives no dates or venue details beyond her reference to an ICC tournament on home soil.

India's joint sweep of the awards

The Hindu says this is the fifth time players from the same national board have won both the men's and women's awards in a month. India has done it on two earlier occasions:

• June 2024: Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana.
• September 2025: Abhishek Sharma and Smriti Mandhana.

Revision notes: ODI basics

An ODI is a limited-overs international match in which each team bats for a maximum of 50 overs. An over has six legal deliveries. An innings ends when the team is all out, uses its overs, or completes a successful chase of the target. Batting records in ODIs include individual scores, centuries, double-centuries and balls faced.

These facts are useful for general-awareness revision, but no source indicates that any question will be asked in an exam.

Practice MCQs

Question 1

For which month's performances did Shubman Gill win his fifth ICC Player of the Month award?

1. July 2025
2. September 2026
3. October 2026
4. February 2025

Answer: September 2026 — the award recognised his September 2026 ODI performances against the West Indies, and it was announced on 13 October 2026.

Question 2

How many runs did Gill score, and off how many balls, in his unbeaten Guwahati innings in the 406-run chase?

1. 110 off 108 balls
2. 223 off 133 balls
3. 360 off 184 balls
4. 100 off 62 balls

Answer: 223 off 133 balls — both sources give these figures for his unbeaten innings in the chase.

Question 3

Who won the ICC women's Player of the Month award for September 2026?

1. Smriti Mandhana
2. Chamari Athapaththu
3. Shafali Verma
4. Sree Charani

Answer: Shafali Verma — she won it for her performances in the Asia Cup and the Asian Games.

Question 4

Gill's previous four ICC Player of the Month awards came in which months?

1. January 2023, September 2023, February 2025 and July 2025
2. June 2024, September 2024, February 2025 and July 2025
3. January 2023, June 2024, September 2025 and October 2026
4. November 2025, January 2023, February 2024 and July 2024

Answer: January 2023, September 2023, February 2025 and July 2025 — both sources list these four earlier awards.