The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Sunday that the most prestigious individual award in world cricket -- the ICC Player of the Year - will be named in honour of West Indian legend Sir Garfield Sobers.

The trophy will be presented to the winner at the ICC Awards ceremony at the Alexandra Place, London, on Tuesday night.

The recommendation to name the award after Sobers came from a group of three cricket legends -- Richie Benaud, Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Holding -- who were asked by the ICC to select an individual with whom to honour cricket's ultimate individual award.

ICC President Ehsan Mani said that naming the award after the West Indian legend will add strong meaning for the individual voted as the game's most outstanding player of the past 12 months.

"Sir Garfield Sobers was an outstanding all-rounder, a wonderful ambassador, and a man who has inspired generations of cricketers to play the game with flair and passion," Mani said.

Sobers said he was honoured that ICC named the award after him.

"I have been fortunate to enjoy a long association with a game that I and millions of others around the world cherish, and I appreciate this honour," Sobers said.

The former West Indies captain played 93 Tests and a single one-day international in his 20-year career, scoring 8032 runs and claiming 235 wickets in Test cricket.