Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opener Gautam Gambhir were nominated for the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award, while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were shortlisted for the ODI Player of the Year category of the ICC Annual Awards which is to be announced on October 1 in Johannesburg.

 

In addition, Gambhir, Johnson and Strauss were also chosen to compete for the Test Player of the Year category along with Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaraweera.

 

In that category, M.S. Dhoni together with compatriots Yuvraj and Sehwag will also compete. West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul is another strong contender for that award.

 

Michell Johnson, due to his awesome performance, has been the lone Aussie to appear in the list of top three awards.

 

However, the gruesome fact is that, no one from India is in the shortlist of The Twenty20 International Performance of the year award. All-rounder Shahid Afridi and pacer Umar Gul from Pakistan, West Indian Chris Gayle and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan are the other players who make up that list.

 

This year, the awards will be given in eight individual categories with the Test and ODI Teams of the Year award. There will be a special award for the Spirit of Cricket.

 

The women cricketers who make to the long list of Women's Cricketer of the Year award are last year's winner England captain Charlotte Edwards, team-mate Claire Taylor and Australia's Shelley Nitschke.

 

The nominees for the Emerging Player of the Year award are Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle from Australia, Jesse Ryder of New Zealand and Graham Onions from England.

 

The nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by Clive Lloyd including players like Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble, Bob Taylor of England, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.