While Rahul Dravid has been nominated for four ICC awards - cricketer of the year, captain of the year, Test and ODI player of the year - the Indian media have raised questions about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's conspicious absence among the 17 nominees for ODI player of the year.
In fact only two players - Yuvraj Singh and Michael Hussey of Australia - have an average better than Dhoni in the period under consideration, says The Times of India. Dhoni had accumulated 1170 runs from 36 ODIs at an average of 55.71 in the last one year starting August 1. Among his notable performances was the scintillating 183 he scored against Sri Lanka in Jaipur. It is the highest score by any wicketkeeper in ODIs.
"At least on two counts, Dhoni should have made the cut," writes GS Vivek in The Indian Express. "Going by the numbers, Dhoni deserved a place. And if match situation was the criteria, it’s no secret that he has bailed out India on a number of occasions over the last season. In fact, Dhoni has been the key in India morphing into world record chasers last season."
"ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed defended wicketkeeper-batsman's omission saying that his performance over the last season qualified him for 2005 award and not for this year," says The Hindustan Times. "However, out-of-form Irfan Pathan's name appears among others on the list of nominations for ODI Player award, despite being sidelined for many one-day internationals in West Indies."
