5 Players who could win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2019
We are nearing the end of yet another calendar year, and it has witnessed some breathtaking cricketing action. Some of the games played in 2019 have been hailed as the most exciting and thrilling of all time.
The final of the ICC World Cup saw New Zealand and England lock horns in one of the most dramatic games of all time. In the end it was England who were crowned champions for the first time ever, in a rather controversial manner.
England and Australia then played out one of the greatest Test matches of all time, where Ben Stokes and Jack Leach stitched a 76-run stand for the last wicket to seal the deal for England.
2019 has also seen the start of the ICC World Test Championship, and India are bossing it right now with 240 points from 5 games.
India are on top of the Test match rankings, while England are the No. 1 ODI team. In the T20I format, Pakistan occupy the top spot.
Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are ranked No. 1 in the Test, ODI and T20I rankings, respectively.
We have just two months left in this calendar year and as such, the race for the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award is bound to intensify. Virat Kohli won the award in 2018 and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to retain it.
On that note, here's a look at the top five contenders for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award.
#5 Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins has been in terrific form throughout the year and has picked up a truckload of wickets for Australia. He has established himself as one of the best in the world and is one of the few bowlers who can deliver the goods across all three formats.
Cummins is the No. 1 ranked bowler in Tests and occupies the 4th position in the ICC rankings for bowlers in the 50-over format.
His batting is also very useful for the Kangaroos and due to his impressive performances in that area, he is in the top 10 of the all-rounders rankings in the longest format of the game.
In eight Test matches this year, Cummins has picked up 43 wickets at a strike rate of 40.5. The 26-year-old's incredible form was one of the main reasons for Australia retaining the Ashes.
In the ODI format, he has picked up 31 wickets in 16 games at a strike rate of 27.3. His economy rate of 4.73 also makes for good reading.
The Sydney-born star still has a possible 6 T20Is and 4 Test matches to play this year, and he will look to make the most of the game time.
Also see - Live cricket score