New Delhi: The nominees for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year were announced on Sunday (December 29) by the International Cricket Council (ICC). There were total of four players shortlisted for the prestigious award with Sri Lanka having the maximum number of players here.
Sri Lankan spin-bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and top-order batter Kusal Mendis will be contenders for the award. Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai makes it an Asian heavy race for the ODI player of the year. West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford will be a challenger to the three aforementioned players from sub-continent.
Hasaranga, who is ICC No. 13 in the all-rounder rankings of ODIs, has picked up 26 wickets from 10 matches at an average of 15.61 and an economy rate of 5.36. He has also scored 87 runs from five innings at 17.40. He started the year with 11 wickets in the three-match series against Zimbabwe, including career-best figures of 7 for 19 in the first ODI in Colombo. He picked multiple wickets in a five-match stretch from Chattogram (vs Bangladesh) to Pallekele (vs West Indies).
Omarzai scored 417 runs in 12 innings at an average of 52.12 and a strike rate of 105.56 apart from returning with seven dismissals with the ball at an average of 20.47. He is currently ranked at No.3 spot in the year-ending ICC rankings of all-rounders in the 50-over format. The memorable moments for the Afghanistan all-rounder was the staggering unbeaten 149 against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Pallekele, though his side lost by 42 runs in that match.
Kusal Mendis has amassed 742 runs in 17 innings at an average of 53 with the help of six fifties and one century. He made 143 against New Zealand in the first ODI in November in Dambulla as Sri Lanka won by 45 runs via duckworth-lewis-stern (DLS) method.
Rutherford made 425 runs in just seven innings at an impressive average of 106.25, including four half-centuries and one century – 113 against Bangladesh in Basseterre this month.
The nominees for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year were announced on Sunday (December 29) by the International Cricket Council (ICC). There were total of four players shortlisted for the prestigious award with Sri Lanka having the maximum number of players here. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
