Arafat Minhas Nominated for ICC Men’s Player of the Month After Tri-Series Heroics
Pakistan’s Arafat Minhas has been nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for October 2026, capping a breakout month in which the 21-year-old all-rounder starred with bat and ball in Pakistan’s home ODI tri-series triumph. The ICC announced the three-man shortlist on Wednesday, 5 November, with South Africa’s Marco Jansen and West Indies captain Shai Hope the other nominees.
A breakout month for the 21-year-old
Minhas was named Player of the Series as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and England to lift the tri-series trophy on home soil. Across five matches he scored 149 runs at an average of 29.80 and a strike rate of 119.20, and claimed nine wickets with his left-arm spin. It was the kind of complete all-round month that selectors dream about: runs in the middle order, wickets in the middle overs, and big moments in the biggest games.
The nomination is the latest step in a rapid rise. Minhas made his ODI debut against Australia earlier in 2026, and within months he has become a fixture of Pakistan’s white-ball plans. The tri-series was his loudest statement yet — and the ICC shortlist is the game’s governing body taking notice.
The England game that made the case
The single performance that did most to earn the nomination came against England, when Minhas produced one of the great all-round ODI displays by a Pakistani in recent memory. He scored 59 runs with the bat and then returned figures of 6 for 40 — the second-best ODI bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler on home soil. Pakistan won the match by 87 runs, and Minhas was named Player of the Match. Read the full report of that England win here.
Six-wicket hauls in ODI cricket are rare enough; doing it on the same day as a half-century is rarer still. It was the performance that turned a promising youngster into a genuine match-winner in the eyes of the home crowd — and, evidently, in the eyes of the ICC’s voting panel too.
The final: 61 off 31 to chase 326
He saved his most explosive batting for the final. Chasing 326 against Sri Lanka in Lahore, Minhas smashed 61 off just 31 deliveries, turning a tense chase into a comfortable one as Pakistan won by three wickets and lifted the trophy. The innings was short, sharp and decisive — exactly the kind of cameo that wins finals. Read how Pakistan chased 326 to lift the tri-series trophy.
The tri-series win also lifted Pakistan to fourth in the ICC ODI rankings, a reminder that this was a team triumph as much as an individual one — but Minhas was the player who kept appearing at the decisive moment. Pakistan’s climb to fourth in the ODI rankings.
Jansen and Hope: the competition
Minhas faces strong competition for the award. South Africa’s Marco Jansen was nominated after series-defining performances with bat and ball against Australia, helping the Proteas secure a 2-1 series victory in the ICC World Test Championship. West Indies captain Shai Hope completes the shortlist after an outstanding month against India across both white-ball formats, including three unbeaten centuries. His 162 not out in the third ODI in New Chandigarh — chasing down 352 — was the highest successful run chase in West Indies’ ODI history.
What happens next
The winner is decided by a combination of fan votes and the ICC voting academy, and the ICC will announce the result in the coming days. For Minhas, the nomination alone is a landmark: few Pakistani all-rounders have announced themselves on the world stage quite so emphatically, or quite so young. If he wins, he will add a global individual honour to a team trophy — and confirm what the tri-series already suggested, that Pakistan has found a genuine all-round star for the years ahead.
Sources: The Freedom Press (IANS); 247 News
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