Dhoni set for rich haul at Cricket Oscars

India's successful run in both Tests and One-Day Internationals in the past season was reflected in the annual ICC Awards with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni getting nominated for as many as three awards.

Dhoni was nominated in three different categories including Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the year for the ICC Awards 2009.

Sri Lanka's dashing opener Tillakaratne Dilshan is another player who got three nominations for Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.

The nominations for the awards, which will take place in Johannesburg on October 1, were announced in Mumbai on Wednesday by former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri, India opener Virender Sehwag and ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

The other Indians, who are in the fray, include Gautam Gambhir (Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year), Harbhajan Singh (Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year), VVS Laxman (Test Player of the Year), Yuvraj Singh (ODI Player of the Year), Virender Sehwag (ODI Player of the Year), Amit Mishra (Emerging Player of the Year) and Mithali Raj (Women's Cricketer of the Year).

Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan made it to the nominations for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year for his four for 19 that he took against Ireland during the World Twenty20 earlier this year.

Dhoni had earlier won the ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and was also named in the ODI Team of the Year.

However, there were no nominations for either Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid.

Sehwag described the awards as "The Oscars of Cricket" and said it helps a player great deal when his  performances are appreciated.

The nominations were based on the performances from August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009 and were selected by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.

The panel also includes former India Test captain Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.