Veteran batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar, both past winners of the LG People’s Choice Award, have been nominated for the honour a second time, along with three other candidates. Tendulkar won the award in 2010, while Sangakkara was granted the honour in 2011.

“This is the third year of the LG People’s Choice Award and it is proving to be hugely popular among fans across the globe and continues to highlight how much voting for their cricketing heroes means,” said David Richardson, ICC Chief Executive.

“This year sees the two past winners nominated again alongside three other extremely deserving candidates, I’m sure the public will choose wisely as to who will be the 2012 winner of this prestigious award at the LG ICC Awards 2012,” he added.

The LG People’s Choice Awards form part of the ICC’s annual awards. This particular category sees fans choosing the winner, by voting for their favourite sportsman out of a short list nominated by an expert elite panel.

In addition to Tendulkar and Sangakkara, this year’s nominees include England pacer James Anderson, and South Africans Jacques Kallis and Vernon Philander.

Among Tendulkar’s many credentials is his recently acquired record of a 100 international centuries, which fits in with his other achievements, including his record for most Test and ODI runs of all time.

Wicketkeeper batsman Sangakkara, meanwhile, tops the ICC’s list of top Test batsmen, and all-rounder Kallis, pacer Philander, and English quick Anderson are also sure to have received a spike in popularity with the ongoing, much-hyped 3-match Test series between England and South Africa.

Fans will be able to vote for their preferred international star through an application which has been made available on the ICC’s Facebook page. The nominees have been selected by a panel of cricket experts headed by Clive Lloyd (former West Indies skipper), and comprising Tom Moody (Australia), Clare Connor (England), Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka), and Carl Hooper (West Indies).

Voting is expected to be open till August 31, and the ceremony is due to take place at the LG ICC Awards in Colombo on September 15.

Source: Adaderana (Sri Lanka)