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World Cup stars Smriti Mandhana, Wolvaardt, Gardner nominated for ICC Player of the Month

Arunima Purohit

Wolvaardt, Mandhana, Gardner [Source: @ICC/ X]Wolvaardt, Mandhana, Gardner [Source: @ICC/ X]

The month of October 2025 will be remembered as a landmark month in women’s cricket that witnessed an exciting ICC Women’s World Cup, where the Indian team lifted their first-ever World Cup title.

Though there were a plethora of individual performances from various teams that made the tournament competitive and entertaining. Among the many standout performers, three stars emerged as the frontrunners for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month: Laura Wolvaardt, Smriti Mandhana, and Ashleigh Gardner.

Grit of Laura Wolvaardt propels South Africa's World Cup charge

South Africa's captain, Laura Wolvaardt, dominated the whole tournament in October with her bat and most of the time alone. She took her team out through difficult situations, after a bad start in the World Cup, where her team was defeated by England and lost the match by 10 wickets. Wolvaardt responded with her typical calmness and steadiness to revive the team and bring it back on track.

Moreover, she was also very good in her individual performance. It was indeed her superlative 169 in the semifinal against England that marked her month, a match-winning innings that rightly takes the credit for the Proteas landing a berth in the final. She did not stop her overwhelming form and smashed a hundred in the final as well against India, thereby finishing the tournament on a high note.

Smriti Mandhana and Ashleigh Gardner add more glitter to the tournament

Smriti Mandhana was the main source of comfort for the Indian side as she emerged again as one of the most skillful and stable openers in the current scenario of the game. India were able to get rid of the most formidable opponents like Australia, England, and New Zealand, thanks to her.

On the other hand, Australia's Ashleigh Gardner was a real impact player to be defined. She was able to achieve consecutive centuries in her high-pressure run-chasing scenarios of the game and turned difficult matches in favor of her team. Moreover, she kept on being effective and, with the ball, she achieved critical dismissals; thus, her status as the most complete female all-rounder of the game was solidified even ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌further.