No Indian in Wisden Cricketers of the Year list

LONDON: For the fifth year in a row, no Indian could make the cut as Wisden picked English trio of Mark Ramprakash, Monty Panesar and Paul Collingwood, along with Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardane and Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf, as the five Cricketers of the Year.

The last Indian to make it to the list was VVS Laxman, who was named in the selected five in 2002.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan was named Leading Cricketer in the World, an award which went to Andrew Flintoff last year.

"Muralitharan is a truly great cricketer. Those that cannot go along with such a sentiment have something lacking in their souls. The spirit of cricket, perhaps," Wisden's Simon Barnes was quoted as saying on BBC Sport after the announcement of the list.

The list is an annual feature of Wisden for the past 144 years and cricketers can be nominated only once in their careers for the list.

The first Sikh to play for England, Panesar made a sensational Test debut against India last year taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.

However, Mark Ramprakash, who last played for England in 2002, was more in the news for winning a celebrity dance competition last year.