ICC trolled by fans online for introducing 'Player of the Month' award from January 2021

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the introduction of the 'ICC Player of the Month' awards to recognise 'best performances' of both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket throughout the year. The ICC released a statement which stated that an independent ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, broadcasters, and journalists from around the world, will team up with fans to vote for the ICC Men's Player of the Month and ICC Women's Player of the Month.

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Fans troll ICC for introducing another category of awards

The ICC said that fans have been enthralled with some exceptional cricketing performances in the month of January which has made the inaugural player of the month awards an extremely competitive affair. There will be no dearth of candidates for the month of January. From performances from youngsters such as Mohammed Siraj (IN), Washington Sundar (IN), T. Natarajan (IN), Rishabh Pant (IN), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) to established players such as Ravichandran Ashwin (IN), Joe Root (ENG), Steve Smith (AUS), Marizanne Kapp (SA), Nadine de Klerk (SA), Nida Dar (PAK), there have been some stunning performances by different individuals over the course of the month.

As soon as the ICC posted about the introduction of another category of awards, fans started flooding the comments section with their views about the same. Several reactions poured in as fans trolled ICC for destroying the reputation of the game and other top honours in cricket. Here's how fans reacted to ICC Player of the Month award.

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Nomination and voting process

The statement further elaborated details about the nomination and voting process. As per the statement, three nominees for each of the categories will be determined by the ICC Awards Nominations Committee based on on-field performances and overall achievements during the period of that month (the first to the last day of each calendar month). This shortlist is then voted for by the independent ICC Voting Academy and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy will consist of prominent members of the cricket family including senior journalists, former players, and broadcasters.

Subsequently, the Voting Academy will submit their votes by email and will retain a 90% share of the vote. On the 1st day of each month, fans registered with the ICC will be able to submit votes via the ICC website and will have a 10% share of the vote. Winners will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels.

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SOURCE: ICC/TWITTER