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New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and Bangladesh's Sobhana Mostary secured the ICC Men's Player of the Month Award for January 2026.
Mitchell made back-to-back centuries during January, helping the Kiwis secure their first-ever ODI series win on Indian soil, winning the series 2-1. The Black Caps player beat Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and star England batter Joe Root to the award, as per ICC. The three-match ODI series saw the Kiwis overturn a 0-1 deficit to win the series 2-1. Mitchell was at the heart of this fightback, with an unbeaten 131 in the second match and followed it up with an even better knock of 137 in the third to lift his team to a match-winning total of 337/8, which proved to be too much for India despite a classy 124 from Virat Kohli and half-centuries from Nitish Kumar Reddy. Mitchell scored 352 runs at an average of 176 to earn the 'Player of the Series' award. Following these strong performances, Mitchell also regained the number one spot in ICC ODI batting rankings. In the following five-match T20I series against the same opponents, he scored 125 runs at a strike rate of 186.56. On the other hand, Mostary's stunning performance in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier helped her bag the ICC Women's Player of the Month for January 2026. The star batter was nominated alongside Ireland captain Gaby Lewis and American left-arm pacer Tara Norris. During the last month's global qualifier, Mostary scored 229 runs at an average of 45.80 and a strike rate of 145.85 in the first six matches. She was key to Bangladesh finishing unbeaten in the tournament and earning their spot in the showpiece tournament to be held later this year. Bangladesh confirmed their spot for the marquee event in June and July with a 39-run win over Thailand. In that contest, Mostary scored a 'Player of the Match', winning 59. She followed it up with another brilliant innings of 47 against Scotland. (ANI)
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