BCCI expresses happiness over Dhoni, Yuvraj bagging ICC awards

Mumbai, Sep 11 (UNI) The Indian cricket board expressed its happiness over Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh winning the ICC annual awards.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also held hope that young pace bowler Ishant Sharma, who just missed an award at this year's ceremony would also soon join the ranks of award winners.

''We are happy that two Indian players received the ICC's annual awards, particularly Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had an outstanding season. We thought that probably (young pacer) Ishant Sharma would also get the Emerging Player honour, but it did not happen,'' said BCCI's CAO Ratnakar Shetty.

Dhoni was named the ODI Player of the Year and Yuvraj won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award. Dhoni beat back tough competition from team-mate Sachin Tendulkar, Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken and Pakistan stalwart Mohammad Yousuf to take the prestigious award.

During the voting period, the swashbuckling wicket keeper-batsman played 39 ODIs and scored 1,298 runs at an average of 49.92 and at a strike rate of 82.46. He also hit a century and nine fifties.

Yuvraj was deservedly honoured for his stupendous six sixes in an over off England pacer Stuart Broad in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship won by India in South Africa last year.

But the gangling Sharma lost out to Sri Lanka's spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, who bagged the Emerging Player honour at the annual ICC awards function held in Dubai.

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