Mumbai: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhonihas won this year's ICC People's Choice Award, thus becoming only the second Indian cricketer to win the coveted prize after just-retired Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni has now become only the third cricketer to win this award after Tendulkar, who was the first-ever recipient in 2010, and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who won it in 2011 and 2012. Other nominees for this year's ICC People's Choice Award were Australia's Michael Clarke, England's Alastair Cook, India's Virat Kohli, and South Africa's AB de Villiers. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel received the award from Howard Lee, Director Home Entertainment, LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd, on behalf of Dhoni, who is currently in South Africa with the India cricket team.

The award, which was introduced at the 2010 ICC Awards in Bengaluru, was voted upon by close to 188,000 cricket fans around the world. The voting opened on November 2 and closed at midnight on November 23, an ICC statement said. The short list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. Other members of the panel are England's Alec Stewart, New Zealand's Catherine Campbell, Pakistan'sWaqar Younis and South Africa's Graeme Pollock. The five players were nominated by the panel using the criteria set out by LG and the ICC.

On winning the People's Choice award, Dhoni said: "This is one of the awards that has given me tremendous satisfaction, since it comes from the key stakeholders of the game - the fans. Recognition from the people who support and encourage us day in and day out, only inspires me to put in that much more, and go the extra mile for them. I would like to thank all those people who have voted in my favour," he added.