Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday released the nominees for the ICC Player of the Month Award for June 2026, recognizing the outstanding performances of New Zealand’s Nathan Smith, Bangladesh’s Mossadegh Hossain and India’s Shubman Gill.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mossadegh Hossain made a remarkable return to international cricket, four years after his previous appearance, playing a key role in his side’s historic 2-1 ODI series win over Australia.
In his first international appearance since November 2022, Mossadegh announced his comeback in style with an unbeaten 86, two wickets and a brilliant running catch in the opening ODI.
His all-round heroics guided Bangladesh to an 86-run victory, only their second ODI win in 23 meetings against Australia and their first in over 20 years.
The 30-year-old finished the three-match series as Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer with 157 runs, including two half-centuries, and was named man of the series after helping his side to one of its most memorable ODI victories.
New Zealand pacer Nathan Smith was equally influential as he inspired the Black Caps to a memorable 2-1 Test series win over England.
Smith finished the series with 16 wickets and was named Man of the Series despite New Zealand’s defeat in the opening Test at Lord’s.
His best display came in that match, where he took three wickets in the second innings before making a superb six for 70 runs.
Smith continued to make important breakthroughs throughout the series as New Zealand won the remaining two Tests to complete a famous comeback.
With several leading fast bowlers sidelined by injury, Smith led an inexperienced fast bowlers and produced a series-winning innings.
Meanwhile, India captain Shubman Gill has enjoyed a prolific month with the bat in both Test and ODI cricket.
Gill opened in early June with 126 in India’s innings win against Afghanistan in the only Test. His 11th Test century, with 15 fours and a six, demonstrated his elegant strokeplay and composure at the crease.
The right-handed batsman carried that form into the ODI series, scoring 238 runs in the two innings he played. He scored 84 off 66 balls in the opening ODI before hitting 154 off just 110 balls in Lucknow.
Despite struggling with cramps during his innings, Gill stepped up in the final stages of his game to claim another Man of the Match award. His outstanding performances throughout the series also earned him the Man of the Series award.