Tendulkar, who had scored an unbeaten 200 against South Africa in Gwalior on February 24, will be competing with compatriots Virender Sehwag and young Virat Kohli apart from seven other players.

India's ever reliable VVS Laxman has earned the nomination for the best Test batsman and out of a total of 10 nominations, the stylish Hyderabadi features in three.|

His fantastic knocks -- 73 not out against Australia in Mohali, 103 not out against Sri Lanka in Colombo and 96 against South Africa in Durban -- make him one of the favourites for the award.

Sehwag has also been nominated in this category for his fighting 109-run knock against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle.

Young left-hander Suresh Raina has been nominated in the best Twenty20 batsmen category for his whilrwind 101 against South Africa during the World Twenty20 at St Lucia.

Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra is in the running for the best ODI bowler award for his four-wicket effort against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final in Dambulla.

India's spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh in competing in the best Test bowling performance category for his five for 59 against South Africa in the second Test at Kolkata.

However, no Indian bowler could earn a nomination for the best Twenty20 bowling performance.

In the best ODI batsman category, Sehwag also finds a nomination for his 110-run knock against New Zealand in Dambulla on a tricky, bowling-friendly pitch.

Kohli found his nomination on the basis of his 118-run innings against Australia in Visakhapatnam where India was set a target of 290 and had stumbled to 35 for two.
But with his gritty knock and help from Yuvraj Singh and Raina, Kohli put India back on track.