Pakistan’s opening batter Sahibzada Farhan and women's cricket captain Fatima Sana have been included among the nominees for the ICC's Player of the Month award for February 2026.Farhan enjoyed a remarkable run with the bat during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, finishing as the tournament’s highest run-scorer.The right-handed opener broke the record for the most runs in a single edition of the tournament, surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous tally of 319 runs set in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2014.Farhan amassed 383 runs at an impressive strike rate of 160.25 while averaging 76.60.The Pakistan opener also registered two centuries during the tournament — against Namibia and Sri Lanka — becoming the first batter to score two hundreds in a single edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup.His prolific form helped Pakistan reach the Super 8 stage of the competition, where they narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals.Meanwhile, Fatima Sana delivered a string of impressive all-round performances against South Africa, despite her side narrowly losing both the ODI and T20I series 2-1.Her tour de force came in the first T20I, where she smashed a brilliant 90. She followed this up with an unbeaten 47 and figures of 2 for 12 in the third match, a performance that earned her the Player of the Match award.Sana also contributed significantly in the 50-over format, striking a crucial 52 and claiming two important wickets in the second ODI. Across the entire tour, she took four wickets in the ODI series and two in the T20Is.The other nominee in men's cricket, England’s Jacks, played a vital role in his side’s run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals with impactful performances with both bat and ball.The 27-year-old scored 194 runs at a strike rate of 173.21 and claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate slightly above eight.His outstanding performances earned him four Player of the Match awards, the most by any player in a single edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup.Jacks delivered particularly crucial performances in the Super 8 stage against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, helping England finish top of Group 2.USA pacer Van Schalkwyk also impressed with the ball during the tournament, emerging as one of the leading wicket-takers.The right-arm fast bowler claimed 13 wickets during the campaign. He made an immediate impact in USA’s opening match against India, picking up four wickets.Van Schalkwyk produced identical figures of 4/25 against Pakistan later in the group stage, further highlighting his consistency.Apart from his wicket-taking ability, the pacer also maintained an impressive economy rate of 7.76 throughout the tournament.
Click here to read article