Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year at a pleasant ceremony here on Thursday.
“It’s been a dream run for me. It’s wonderful to be a part of the Indian team and contribute to its success,” the left-handed opener said after receiving the award from Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was adjudged the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, while Mitchell Johnson won the Cricketer of the Year award.
Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan was adjudged the ICC Twenty20 International Performer of the Year. Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal at The Oval clinched it for the aggressive batsman.
The awards were given away for performances between August 2008 and August 2009.
The winners were selected by an elite panel that included Clive Lloyd, Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar, Stephen Fleming and Bob Taylor.
Dilshan said, “It is great to receive the award from Yuvraj Singh. I can not forget the innings against the West Indies. My career changed after I began to open the innings.”
About his innovative scoop shot over the ’keeper off pacemen, Dilshan said, “I first tried it during the IPL. It enabled me put pressure on the bowlers.”
Rahul Dravid announced Australia’s Peter Siddle as the ICC Emerging Player of the Year. The Aussie paceman said, “We are a young pack, myself, Mitchell (Johnson) and Ben (Hilfenhaus). We helped each other, enjoyed each other’s company.”
New Zealand bagged the Spirit of Cricket award. Receiving the prize from Haroon Lorgat, CEO, ICC, Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori said, “There is so much scrutiny on the game these days. Every time we step on the field, we play the game in the right spirit. Maybe we are a little bit too nice!”
Pakistan’s Aleem Dar walked away with the Umpire of the Year prize. Simon Taufel of Australia had won the honour on four occasions.
Ireland captain William Porterfield was named the ICC Associate Nations’ Cricketer of the Year.
The ICC Test team of the Year: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), G. Gambhir, A. Strauss, A.B. de Villiers, S. Tendulkar, T. Samaraweera, M. Clarke, Shakib-ul-Hasan, M. Johnson, S. Broad, and D. Steyn; 12th man: Harbhajan Singh.
ODI team of the Year: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Yuvraj Singh, Martin Guptill, Andrew Flintoff, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis and Umar Gul; 12th man:Thilan Thushara.
0 comments:
Post a Comment