No one will argue with the fact that Ricky Ponting at this moment of time is the best batsman in the world. What’s more, he is also the best captain in the world. Two consecutive World Cup wins and beating every test nation home and away prove that. Taking all this into account, International Cricket Council (ICC) has nominated Ponting to four categories for the ICC awards. Interestingly, Srilanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is also nominated in four categories.
Both Ponting and Jayawardene are nominated for captain of the year award. In addition, both of them are nominated in the categories of cricketer of the year, test player of the year and one-day international player of the year. Although, winners will be announced on September 10 in Johannesburg, South Africa, there is a strong possibility that Ricky Ponting will win three of those awards.
In my opinion, Ponting will win the captain of the year, cricketer of the year and test player of the year award. It is worth mentioning in this regard that last year Ponting won cricketer and test player of the year awards. On the other hand, Jayawardene was last year selected as the captain of the year.
According to report, the nominations were made by a selection panel of five former players: Sunil Gavaskar of India, Alec Stewart of England, New Zealand’s Chris Cairns, Gary Kirsten of South Africa and Pakistan’s Iqbal Qasim.
