Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and star batsman Virat Kohli were today nominated for the International Cricket Council’s People’s Choice Award, the winner of which will be declared on December 13 during the governing body’s 10th annual awards.
“The quintet of players nominated for the award are Australia’s Michael Clarke, England’s Alastair Cook, India’s duo of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, and South Africa’s AB de Villiers,” the ICC said in a statement.
Both Kohli and Dhoni have been ICC award winners in the past. While Kohli won the ICC ODI Player of the Year 2012, Dhoni had bagged the same trophy in the year 2008 and 2009.
Fans will have the opportunity to decide the winner by voting either via
Voting opens today and will close at midnight November 23 with the winner to be announced on December 13, along with all the other winners of the LG ICC Awards 2013.
This year marks the 10th year of the LG ICC Awards, and will see a change in the format of the Awards.
The formal event will be replaced with a special TV show that will be broadcast towards the end of the year. The show is set to recap the last year in world cricket and will feature interviews with many nominees and winners.
The short list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. Other members of the panel are England’s Alec Stewart, New Zealand’s Catherine Campbell, Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and South Africa’s Graeme Pollock.
The five players were selected by the panel using the criteria set out by LG and the ICC.
“This is the fourth year of the LG People’s Choice Award and it continues to be hugely popular among fans across the globe,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said.
“This year we see a number of new names nominated for the title, all tremendous entertainers who play with style and skill. I’m sure all the fans will come out in force to vote for their favourite.”