ICC Awards 2023: First set of nominees announced, unveiling T20I and Emerging contenders

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the first four shortlists in the ICC Awards 2023, highlighting the outstanding performers in contention for the Men’s and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year Awards, and the Emerging Men’s and Women’s Cricketer of the Year Awards.

A thrilling year of competition in the shortest format sees eight different nations among the nominations for the T20I categories, highlighting the vast spread of talent across the global game.

In the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year category, India’s Suryakumar Yadav stands in contention to win his second successive prize, after being crowned in the same category back in 2022. This year, the top-ranked T20I batter lines up against New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, after all enjoyed landmark years in the shortest format.

The ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year shortlist honours some of the biggest names in the women’s game. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu was in sparkling form throughout the year, and is joined by England spin maestro Sophie Ecclestone, West Indies’ all-round icon Hayley Matthews, and the evergreen Ellyse Perry, a former two-time winner of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year (2019 and 2017).

Elsewhere, a wealth of exciting new talent emerged onto the world stage in 2023, providing us with memorable performances in pinnacle events such as last year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year category features four stellar up-and-coming talents in women’s cricket. Bangladesh’s Marufa Akter, England’s Lauren Bell, Scotland’s Darcey Carter and Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield are named as the four leading contenders for the crown after they enjoyed remarkable form in 2023.

Also revealed today is the shortlist for the ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year – a hugely competitive field which boasts four ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup prodigies. Gerald Coetzee will aim to emulate last year’s winner, fellow Protea Marco Jansen to claim the 2023 award, where he comes up against India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra.