New Delhi: Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and Indian opener Gautam Gambhir have all been shortlisted for both the ICC Cricketer of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards. MS Dhoni rounds out the Cricketer of the Year nominees and is also in line for retaining the ODI Player of the Year title.
Indian batsmen dominated the race for best ODI player, with Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh also being nominated. West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the other contender for the award.
Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who made 1067 runs at 82.07 during the period considered for the awards (August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009), completes the line-up for Test Player of the Year.
Match-winning semi-final performance in that tournament, Shahid Afridi's 51 off 34 balls and two wickets against South Africa, was also shortlisted.
While Johnson, the spearhead of Australia's bowling attack, is line for two major prizes, his support cast during the Ashes, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, are both in the running for the best Emerging player title.
The nominations