Calcutta: India one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai on Wednesday. Yuvraj Singh became the inaugural winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award in recognition of his amazing six sixes in one over during the World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007.
Dhoni also found a berth in the ODI Team of the Year along with Sachin Tendulkar. Virender Sehwag was the sole Indian representative in the Test Team of the Year. Dhoni beat off tough competition from teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken and Pakistan batsman Mohammed Yousuf.
During the voting period, Dhoni played 39 ODIs and scored 1,298 runs at an average of 49.92 and at a rate of 82.46 runs per 100 balls faced. He also hit a century and nine fifties, making sure he led his team from the front during this period. He is currently ranked No.1 in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.
“I would like to thank the voting academy for considering me to be deserving of this award. I am really happy to get this — it’s a great privilege,” Dhoni said.
According to the awards voting academy, Yuvraj’s effort was the most impressive performance in the past 12 months. He beat off competition from teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led his team to victory at World Twenty20 in South Africa, Chris Gayle who scored 117 off just 57 balls against South Africa in the opening match of the competition and Australia’s Brett Lee, who became the first bowler to take a hattrick in the event against Bangladesh in Cape Town.
“For me it was very important just to get nominated. There were other great performances during the past year. For example, Gayle’s innings in the World Twenty20 was fantastic. I am very happy to collect this award and I would like to congratulate the other players who were nominated alongside me,” Yuvraj said after collecting the award from Arjuna Ranatunga.
Significantly, Andrew Symonds has been included in the ODI Team of the Year. Ricky Ponting has been named captain of the ODI side while Graeme Smith will lead the Test team.
The selection panel was chaired by Clive Lloyd and included former Australia captain Greg Chappell, recently retired South Africa allrounder Shaun Pollock, former Sri Lanka opener Sidath Wettimuny and former Bangladesh batsman Athar Ali Khan.
THE AWARD WINNERS
Cricketer of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
Test Player of the Year: Dale Steyn (South Africa)
ODI Player of the Year: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
Women’s Player of the Year: Charlotte Edwards (England)
Emerging Player of the Year: Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Associate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate (The Netherlands)
Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Yuvraj Singh (India)
Spirit of Cricket: Sri Lanka
Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel (Australia)
