Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne and recently retired South African all-rounder Jacques kallis have been nominated for the Cricketer of the Generation award to be given by ESPN Cricinfo. The award has been created to mark 20 years of existence of ESPN Cricinfo and is intended to felicitate the most outstanding cricketer between 1993 and 2013.
The final shortlist of three was chosen by an eminent jury comprising current and former cricketers, cricket columnists and commentators. Other than this prestigious honor, other prizes such as contribution to cricket award and Statsguru award will also be given in a ceremony to be held on Friday March 14, 2014.
“The 20 years of ESPN cricinfo’s presence have coincided with one of the great eras in the sport of cricket. The 1990s would count among the most competitive eras in the history of the game – both in terms of the contest between bat and ball, and the overall standard of teams. So it seemed right for us to wind up our 20th anniversary celebrations by honouring the most outstanding cricketer of this generation,” editor-in-chief Sambit Bal said.
Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis and Shane Warne are widely regarded as the best batsman, all-rounder and bowler over the last two decades.
The 50 member jury includes former cricketers such as Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Chappell, Michael Holding, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman among many great past and present cricketers. Commentator Harsha Bhogle and historian Ramachandra Guha are also part of this esteemed panel.
