Nominees for ICC Men's Test Player of the Year Revealed

England's Joe Root

In 15 matches, he scored 1708 runs, including six centuries.

The year in which he assured that honor

Joe Root's incredible record in 2021 can be summarised up in one simple statistic: joe seems to become only the third player in Test cricket career to score over 1700 runs in a complete year. He is just ahead of Mohammad Yousuf and Sir Vivian Richards.

It doesn't matter if you're in Asia or if you're in the United States. It doesn't matter if it's about speed or spin. With some great blows, Root has overcome it all. His innings against Sri Lanka in Galle, India in Chennai, and India again at Lord's are among the best seen in the modern period, and will be remembered fondly for a long time. He's also done well with the ball, taking 14 wickets and one five-for in Ahmedabad.

Exceptional performance

The 218 that Root scored during first Test of the four-match series against India in Chennai was a batting masterpiece. With ease, he smacked aside a superb bowling assault, combining pace and spin. This was a continuation of his form from the Sri Lankan series, where he was once again outstanding.

The Indian bowlers had no replies for Root's predicament, as he set up a 227-run triumph for the outsiders after batting for 377 deliveries. This was also a foreshadowing of things to come for the rest of the year, as the England captain produced hit after hit of the highest order, regardless of the opponent.

India's R Ashwin

In eight matches, he took 52 wickets at an aggregate of 16.23 and scored 337 runs at 28.08 with one hundred.

The year in which he assured that honor

In 2021, R Ashwin, one of World's finest match-scorers in the longest format, reestablished his standing as one of the world's finest spinners. With the exception of his ball control, Ashwin also made a significant contribution with the bat.

The Sydney Test against Australia kicked off the year on a positive note. Ashwin bowled a precise line and distance with the ball before embarking on a methodical 128-ball 29* and, together with Hanuma Vihari, guiding India to a historic 1-1 draw.In the friendly series against England, he was in top form, taking 32 wickets at 14.72 in 4 games and contributed 189 runs with the bat. He was named Player of the Series for his achievements.

The contenders for the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year 2021 award are Root, Ashwin, Jamieson, and Karunaratne.

Despite of the given condition, India finishing second to New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship Final, Ashwin left his imprint on the fabric round Southampton ground, taking four wickets in the match.

The next series against England was a disappointment for Ashwin, as he missed out all four games due to the Indian team management's preference for a scoring rate assault.

The spinner would later come back to earn another Member of the Series title in the friendly series against New Zealand. In two games, he took 14 wickets at an average of 11.36, while also contributing with a pair of useful innings in the Kanpur Test. With India attempting to win their first series on South African soil, the great Indian spinner will now play a major role.

Exceptional performance

With India behind England 1-0 in the series, the hosts wanted their great players to come up to the plate. Ashwin achieved that already with an outstanding all-around performance. In both innings, he took 5/43 and 3/52, respectively, to create a web around the English batsmen.

Not only that, but he also hit his sixth Test century with a magnificent 106 in the second innings. England lost to a 317-run defeat against an energised Ashwin, who was playing on his own soil.

New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson

In five matches, he took 27 wickets at an average of 17.51. At 17.50, 105 runs are completed.

The year in which he assured that honor

Kyle Jamieson appeared as one of the most exciting fast bowling threats in international cricket in 2021, another fantastic addition to the New Zealand pace battery.

Jamieson was the X-factor in New Zealand's pace attack in a historic year in which they won the first ICC World Test Championship against India in the final, magnificently superseding and often surpassing the achievements of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner. He was the star of the show at Southampton, taking seven wickets and scoring 21 runs in the first innings, earning him the Player of the Match title.

Kyle Jamieson is a high speed bowler legend from New Zealand.

Jamieson shined on the plain wickets in India, away from the seam-friendly fields of New Zealand and England, getting the ball to form nicely. In the two matches, he took six wickets, confirming with his efforts that New Zealand had a young champion.

'He'll be a legend,' Nasser Hussain said of Jamieson.

Jamieson was the player that made the difference in New Zealand's best hour, when they won the ICC World Test Championship. On beginning, he got the ball to form wonderfully and proceeded to bowl at the Hampshire bowl with a high level of talent.

He took five wickets in the first session, including the important wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and he knocked the Indian captain again in the second innings. As New Zealand's tail waggled magnificently, suffocating India's aspirations, he too contributed 21 runs.

Sri Lankan Dimuth Karunaratne

In seven matches, he scored 902 runs at an average of 69.38, including four centuries.

The year in which he assured that honor

In the longest decade the Sri Lankan Test captain once again spearheaded the effort for his team. He demonstrated his versatility as an all-rounder and solidified his claim to be the finest starter in Test cricket from now onwards

Another outstanding year for Karunaratne included a superb 100 against South Africa in Johannesburg, two hundreds against Bangladesh in two matches in Pallekele, including a double tonne, and a wonderful 100 against the West Indies in Galle.

Karunaratne was solid at the top of the lineup all year, nullifying numerous new-ball approaches before launching the strokes once he had his sight in. With Sri Lankan cricket in flux, the captain will once again be challenged with being the guiding light of the batting order as a new era dawns.

Exceptional performance

Karunaratne played a magnificent opening knock of 103 off 128 shipments on a Wanderers field that aided the pacers and with the likes of Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi in the South African line, demonstrating his mettle.

On this field, scoring runs was tough; Sri Lanka were bowled out for 157 in the first innings, while South Africa could only respond with a total of 302 in the second. Karunaratne hit 19 bombs in the second innings, but he couldn't receive any help from the other end, as the outsiders were bowled out for 211.

Karunaratne's tonne was made all the more impressive by the fact that he scored over half of his team's runs so no other batsman even reached a score of 40.

South Africa would go on to win by ten wickets, but Karunaratne's innings will be remembered for a long time.