Johnson, who won the award in 2009, and Sangakkara, the winner in 2012, were joined on the shortlist by Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews and his South African counterpart AB de Villiers. Former Australia captain Ponting won the title in 2006 and 2007.
During the voting period of August 26, 2013 and September 17, 2014, Johnson claimed 59 wickets in eight Tests at an impressive average of 15.23. Sangakkara finished as the leading run-getter during the same period with 1,502 runs in 11 Tests.
India’s Kumar wins people’s choice award
The people's choice award, voted for by fans, was won by India's fast-rising paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"This award means a lot to me as I didn't get it only for my individual performance but because of the love and support of my fans," Kumar told the ICC.
Johnson, Mathews and Sangakkara as well as Australia opener David Warner have also been in contention for the ICC Test cricketer of the year award.
For the ICC one-day cricketer of the year award, South African trio of Quinton de Kock, Dale Steyn and De Villiers will vie with India's Virat Kohli.
For the ICC women's cricketer of the year award, two former winners have been shortlisted. These are England captain Charlotte Edwards, winner in 2008, and two-time winner Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies. They are joined by India captain and number-one ranked batter Mithali Raj and England wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor.
England duo of Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes, and New Zealand's pair of Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neeshan have been shortlisted for the ICC emerging cricketer of the year award.
There will be a new winner of the ICC women's T20 cricketer of the year after the previous two awards were won by England's Sarah Taylor. The players shortlisted this year are Charlotte Edwards of England, Meg Lanning of Australia, India's Mithali Raj and West Indies' Stafanie Taylor.
Alex Hales, Aaron and Rangana Herath have earned nominations for the ICC Twenty20 International performance of the year award.
Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari, and the Scotland duo Calum MacLeod and Preston Mommsen will fight for the best player award from the Associates and Affiliates teams.
The ICC also announced its Test and one-day teams for 2014, with Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews as captain for the longer format while Dhoni will lead the limited overs team.
Hafeez makes it to the ODI Team of the Year
(PAK) Muhammad Hafeez
(SA) Quinton de Kock
(IND) Virat Kohli
(AUS) George Bailey
(SA) AB de Villiers
(IND) MS Dhoni (captain)
(WI) Dwayne Bravo
(AUS) James Faulkner
(SA) Dale Steyn
(IND) Mohammad Shami
(SL) Ajantha Mendis
(IND) Rohit Sharma (12th man)
NECK-IN-NECK: Johnson claimed 59 wickets in eight Tests and Sangakkara finished as the leading run-getter with 1,502 runs in 11 Tests between August 2013 and September this year. PHOTOS: AFP
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