By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : The International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards 2008 extravaganza got under way here Wednesday evening with the start of the ceremonial red carpet ceremony.
Among the first to arrive at The Westin hotel besides the Arabian Gulf here, the venuce of the ceremony, were Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar and secretary Niranjan Shah.
They were followed by former World Cup-winning Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
This is the fifth edition of the annual awards.
India’s one-day and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led his country’s charge this year, being nominated for two of the awards – ODI Player of the Year and the newly instituted Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.
Yuvraj Singh is the other Indian to be nominated for the Twenty20 award.
Veteran Sachin Tendulkar will also compete for the ODI Player of the Year.
Young Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has been nominated for the Emerging Player of the Year.
This year there are 11 categories of the awards including the newly instituted one for Twenty20 and the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, West Indies’ Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and South Africans Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn are in the vying for the most coveted award of the evening – the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which recognizes the ICC Cricketer of the Year.