The year 2021 has well and truly been a memorable year for international cricket at large and the International Cricket Council (ICC) would reward some spectacular performers and achievements in its annual ICC Awards ceremony. There were a lot of top competitions in international cricket this year, starting from the World Test Championship final, which New Zealand won by beating India at the Lords Cricket Ground in June. The T20 World Cup 2021 followed in October-November where Australia, powered by some splendid performances won the crown in a Trans-Tasman final in Dubai. Smriti Mandhana, Ireland's Gaby Lewis Among Nominees for ICC Women's T20I Player of the Year

The ICC Awards, which would be given for performances in international cricket from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, would have a total of 13 categories. Let us take a look at all these categories:

Categories for ICC Awards 2021:

1) Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year

2) Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year

3) ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year

4) ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

5) ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

6)  ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

7) ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

8) ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year

9) ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year

10) ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

11) ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

12) ICC Spirit of Cricket Award

13) ICC Umpire of the Year

Having seen the categories, let us take a look at some players who have been nominated for the awards.  This list includes some top performers across formats in 2021.  IND vs SA 1st Test 2021 Day 5 Stat Highlights: India Register Historic Victory in Centurion With 113-Run Win Over South Africa

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Shaheen Afridi, Joe Root, Mohammad Rizwan and Kane Williamson

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Tammy Beaumont, Lizelle Lee, Smriti Mandhana and Gaby Lewis.

ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Joe Root, Kyle Jamieson, Ravichandran Ashwin and Dimuth Karunaratne.

ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Shakib Al Hasan, Paul Stirling, Janneman Malan and Babar Azam

ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Wanindu Hasaranga, Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan and Mitchell Marsh

ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Tammy Beaumont, Fatima Sana, Hayley Matthews and Lizelle Lee

ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year Nominees: Smriti Mandhana, Tammy Beaumont, Gaby Lewis and Nat Sciver

Award announcement dates: 

The women's and men's awards would be announced on January 23 and 24 respectively. The 'Team of the Year' awards would be announced on January 17 and 18. ICC would also name the winners of the 'ICC Spirit of Cricket Award' and  'ICC Umpire of the Year' awards on January 24.

Who picks the winners? 

The winners would be chosen from votes received in the Voting Academy, which consists of journalists covering the sport all over the world. Besides this, the ICC has also opened up voting channels for cricket fans to choose who they think should win a respective award. The ICC would pick the winners based on these votes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2021 11:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).