The ICC has confirmed three nominees each for the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards, respectively, for August 2026. Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha, England’s Ollie Robinson and Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud have been shortlisted after producing standout performances across Test cricket during the month. Meanwhile, Thailand duo Suleeporn Laomi and Nannapat Koncharoenkai and the Isle of Man’s Lucy Barnett are the three contenders for the Women’s award.
Contenders for Men’s award
Sonal Dinusha (Sri Lanka)
Dinusha was the most prolific batter of the period, accumulating 420 runs at an average of 140.00 across two ICC World Test Championship Tests against India. He scored 100 in the first innings of the first Test at Galle and followed that with 84 in the second innings. In the second Test, Dinusha posted 103 in the first innings and an unbeaten 133 in the second to complete a remarkable month with the bat.
Ollie Robinson (England)
Robinson was the standout bowler among the three nominees. The England seamer claimed 8/80 in the first Test against Pakistan and then returned 8/35 in the second Test. He finished August with 16 wickets at an average of 7.18 from two Tests, with England winning both matches to move 2-0 ahead in the series.
Hasan Mahmud (Bangladesh)
Hasan Mahmud produced a match-winning performance in Darwin to help Bangladesh secure their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil. He took 6/55 in the first innings and 3/56 in the second innings of that historic match, finishing the two-match series with nine wickets at an average of 19.77.
Contenders for Women’s award
Suleeporn Laomi (Thailand)
The 28-year-old leg-spinner enjoyed success in both ODIs and T20Is during this period. She grabbed four ODI wickets including a haul of three for 27 in the final match of a series against Papua New Guinea that her side won 3-0 and started the Women’s Asia Cup T20 tournament with an impressive haul of three for 26 against India.
Nannapat Koncharoenkai (Thailand)
Koncharoenkai was the leading scorer in the T20I series against Papua New Guinea that was played in Port Moresby. She also contributed in the subsequent ODI series. She aggregated 121 runs at a strike-rate of 80.13 in ODIs and 144 at a strike-rate of 86.22 in four T20Is.
Lucy Barnett (Isle of Man)
Barnett, opener and captain of her side, amassed 257 runs at an average of 128.5 and an impressive strike-rate of 178.47 in four T20Is, that included a knock of 123 not out off 64 balls against Norway. She was the leading run-scorer in the Continental Cup as her team reached the final. She supplemented her batting efforts with four wickets with her off-spin bowling.
What is the next step in the ICC Player of the Month process?
With the nominees confirmed, the voting process for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for August 2026 will now proceed. The ICC typically opens voting to a combination of a specialist jury and public participation before announcing the winner.
