ICC Awards 2009: Indians lead nominees list

Mumbai:

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan have been nominated for three International Cricket Council (ICC) awards each, it was announced here on Wednesday.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni and batsman Dilshan are in the running for the prestigious ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards. The Indian also figures in the One-Day Player of the Year category.

Dilshan has also been nominated for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg on October 1 during the Champions Trophy.

The nominations, based on performances from August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009, were made by a five-member selection panel headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.

The panel also included former cricketers Anil Kumble of India, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.

The nominations were announced at a function hosted by former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri and attended by India opener Virender Sehwag and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

"The awards are an opportunity for the ICC and FICA (Federation of International Cricketers' Associations) to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world's top players," said Lorgat.

"This will be the sixth time the awards have been handed out and yet again there are so many great performances to recall. Selecting the winners will no doubt test our selectors and voting academy."

Nominations:

Cricketer of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND), Gautam Gambhir (IND), Shakib Al Hasan (BAN), Mitchell Johnson (AUS), Graham Onions (ENG), Thilan Samaraweera (SRI), Kumar Sangakkara (SRI), Harbhajan Singh (IND), Graeme Smith (RSA), Andrew Strauss (ENG), Daniel Vettori (NZL), AB de Villiers (RSA).

Test Player of the Year: Stuart Broad (ENG), Michael Clarke (AUS), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI), Gautam Gambhir (IND), Shakib Al Hasan (BAN), Mitchell Johnson (AUS), Venkatsai Laxman (IND), Jesse Ryder (NZL), Thilan Samaraweera (SRI), Ramnaresh Sarwan (WIS), Peter Siddle (AUS), Harbhajan Singh (IND), Graeme Smith (RSA), Dale Steyn (RSA), Andrew Strauss (ENG), Graeme Swann (ENG), Daniel Vettori (NZL), AB de Villiers (RSA).

ODI Player of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND), Andrew Flintoff (ENG), Chris Gayle (WIS), Umar Gul (PAK), Martin Guptill (NZL), Michael Hussey (AUS), Nuwan Kulasekara (SRI), Ajantha Mendis (SRI), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Yuvraj Singh (IND), Virender Sehwag (IND), Thilan Thushara (SRI).

Emerging Player: Martin Guptill (NZL), Ben Hilfenhaus (AUS), Philip Hughes (AUS), Amit Mishra (IND), Graham Onions (ENG), Kemar Roach (WIS), Jesse Ryder (NZL), Peter Siddle (AUS).

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Rizwan Cheema (CAN), Khurram Chohan (CAN), Alex Cusack (IRL), Ryan ten Doeschate (NED), Trent Johnston (IRL), Neil McCallum (SCO), Kevin O'Brien (IRL), Niall O'Brien (IRL), William Porterfield (IRL), Boyd Rankin (IRL), Edgar Schiferli (NED), Steve Tikolo (KEN), Regan West (IRL), Bas Zuiderent (NED).

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Shahid Afridi (PAK), Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Dwayne Bravo (WIS), Alex Cusack (IRL), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI), Chris Gayle (WIS), Umar Gul (PAK), David Hussey (AUS), Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI), Zaheer Khan (IND), Ajantha Mendis (SRI), Wayne Parnell (RSA), Abdur Razzak (BAN), David Warner (AUS).

Women's Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates (NZL), Holly Colvin (ENG), Charlotte Edwards (ENG), Laura Marsh (ENG), Sana Mir (PAK), Shelley Nitschke (AUS), Mithali Raj (IND), Karen Rolton (AUS), Priyanka Roy (IND), Lisa Sthalekar (AUS), Claire Taylor (ENG), Sarah Taylor (ENG), Stafanie Taylor (WIS), Haidee Tiffin (NZL), Aimee Watkins (NZL).

Umpire of the Year: Billy Bowden (NZL), Aleem Dar (PAK), Steve Davis (AUS), Ian Gould (ENG), Tony Hill (NZL), Daryl Harper (AUS), Asad Rauf (PAK), Simon Taufel (AUS).