Seam bowling all-rounder Farhad Reza was the sole Bangladeshi representative on the shortlists announced on Tuesday for several categories of the LG ICC Awards 2013.
Farhad was nominated for the ICC Spirit of Cricket award, alongside Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene, the winner of which will be announced at a ceremony in Mumbai.
Other than the ICC Spirit of Cricket award, shortlists for nine other awards were announced, including the Cricketer of the Year, Test cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Performances of cricketers from the period of August 7, 2012 – August 25, 2013 were taken into account and the winners of the respective categories will be declared on December 14 in a ceremony that will be broadcast live.
The 27-year old Farhad, whose 29 wickets spearheaded third-placed Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club’s campaign in the recently-concluded Dhaka Premier League, came into the reckoning for his display of sportsmanship against Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 2012 in Sri Lanka.
While attempting to catch Pakistani left-handed batsman Nasir Jamshed off the bowling of Mahmudullah at long on, Farhad touched the ropes and immediately signalled that it was an over-boundary and, consequently, the television umpire’s intervention was not required as he cleared the confusion regarding the catch.
Farhad was lauded for his act of honesty then, and now he will vie for the ICC Spirit of Cricket award with former Sri Lankan captain Jayawardene.
The shortlists for other categories were also announced on Tuesday, with a 32-member panel tasked with the responsibility of selecting the respective winners.
The 32-member panel comprises of legendary former cricketers and respected members of the media, including two Bangladeshi cricket veterans – former captain Habibul Bashar and sports journalist Atif Azam.
Atif Azam is a renowned sports correspondent and
works for daily newspaper New Age. He is also a product of the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan and was a wicketkeeper-batsman in his heyday.
The shortlists were earlier drafted by a five-member ICC selection panel led by former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble, chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee.
A number of star names feature on the shortlists.
South African batsman Hashim Amla, Australian captain Michael Clarke and England seamer Jimmy Anderson are in both the Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year categories.
England’s Test captain Alastair Cook, Indian captain MS Dhoni and Sri Lankan stalwart Kumar Sangakkara complete the Cricketer of the Year shortlist, while the Test Cricketer of the Year shortlist also names premier fast bowler Dale Steyn from South Africa and Indian pair Ravichandran Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara.
The ODI Cricketer of the Year category is dominated by nominees from the subcontinent. India have three representatives in Dhoni, opener Shikhar Dhawan and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Pakistan have two names on the shortlist – spinner Saeed Ajmal and Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq – while Sri Lanka have one nominee in Sangakkara.
English rookie Joe Root is the frontrunner for the Emerging Cricketer of the Year award, with Australian paceman Mitchell Starc, Pujara and New Zealand’s Trent Boult following suit.
Irish duo Kevin O’Brien and Ed Joyce are in the running for the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year award. Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer and Afghanistan’s Nawroz Mangal have also been nominated.
Awards will also be given out for the Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, Women’s T20 Cricketer of the year, Best T20 Performance of the Year and Umpire of the Year.
The People’s Choice Award has already been decided with Dhoni winning the award which was finalised based on votes cast by cricket fans across the globe.
-With New Age input