ICC Men's Test Player of the Year 2021: Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root among nominees

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the ICC Awards 2021 would be given out in January 2021 across 13 categories, comprising male and female. Meanwhile, the nominations for the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year have been announced. Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin makes the list along with English Test skipper Joe Root.

This year, Ashwin has been highly impactful with his quirky spins, be it home or overseas. Also, his valuable contributions with the bat have played a focal role in India's success of late. The off-spinner has claimed 52 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 16.23, besides scoring 337 runs at 28.08, including a century.

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As for Root, he has been phenomenal with the bat, scoring 1,708 runs in 15 Tests at 61.00, including six centuries. He happens to be the highest-scoring Englishman in a calendar year in the format, besides being the third overall in Test history. Along with Ashwin and Root, a couple of more names have been nominated too.

New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson features in the list, claiming 27 wickets in five Tests at 17.51. He continues to grow as one of the prominent pacers for NZ and the world. His lethal pace played a constructive role in Kiwis' success in the ICC World Test Championship title win against India this year.

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As for the final man in the list, it happens to be Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. He has scored 902 runs in seven Tests at 69.38, along with four tons. Considering some of the highlights this year, it happens to be a century against South Africa in Johannesburg, a ton and a double century against Bangladesh, and a ton against the Windies.