ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award: Ashwin among nominees
Senior Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been shortlisted as one of the four nominees for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award. Ashwin recently overtook Harbhajan Singh to become India's most successful off-spinner in Test cricket. England skipper Joe Root, New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, and Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne are the others who have been nominated. Here are further details.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the nominees in a release on Tuesday. "One of India's greatest match-winners in the longest format, R Ashwin again asserted his authority as one of the world's finest spinners in 2021. Apart from his wizardry with the ball, Ashwin also made invaluable contributions with the bat," the ICC said in the release.
The ICC awards will comprise as many as 13 individual recognitions. A total of five Team of the Year announcements for each of the three formats across both men's and women's cricket will also be made.
Earlier this year, Ashwin surpassed the legendary Harbhajan Singh in terms of Test wickets. Ashwin now has 427 wickets in Test cricket, 10 more than Harbhajan. He is only behind Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619) among Indians. On the overall list, Ashwin has the third-most wickets among off-spinners, after Muthiah Muralitharan (800) and Rangana Herath (433).
Ashwin scored a 129-ball 29 against Australia and his partnership with Hanuma Vihari down the order helped India in drawing the Sydney Test. India won the 2020-21 Test series 2-1. During England's visit to India, Ashwin picked up 32 wickets and scored 189 runs. He bagged 14 wickets during New Zealand's two-match Test series against India. Overall, he has 52 wickets in at 16.23.
England skipper Joe Root was in terrific form this year, scoring 1,708 runs in 15 matches at 61.00. He registered six Test centuries with the best of 228. New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson scalped 27 wickets at 17.51 and amassed 105 runs as well. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne accumulated 902 runs in seven games at an impressive average of 69.38.
