Virat Kohli was announced the winner of two awards by the International Cricket Council on Monday – ICC ODI Men’s Cricketer of the Decade and ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade – while MS Dhoni won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade.
The Indian cricket captain earned the ODI Cricketer of the Decade award for his prolific record in 50-over format. The Indian cricket captain pipped former skipper MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin , Joe Root and Steve Smith, among others to win the award.
Having hit more than 20,000 runs in the qualification period, Virat Kohli also won the Sir Garfield Sobers ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade Award. The 32-year-old amassed 20,396 runs at an average of 56.97, the highest among players with more than 70-plus innings. He smashed 66 hundreds and 94 fifties during the period.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the announcement via twitter, bestowing the honour on Kohli, who scored 66 out of his 70 international hundreds, in the “ICC Awards” period. “My only intention was to make winning contributions for the team and I just strive to do that in every game. Stats just become the byproduct of what you want to do on the field,” Virat Kohli said after winning the award.
Former India captain Dhoni was chosen for the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade by fans unanimously for his gesture of calling back England batsman Ian Bell after a bizarre run out in the Nottingham Test in 2011.
Meanwhile, Australia batsman Steve Smith was named as the Test player of the decade. During the tenure Steve Smith scored 7040 Test runs at an average of 65.79. He smashed 26 hundreds and 28 fifties.
The winners of all the individual awards will receive a unique artwork created in a collaboration between the ICC, Mumbai-based studio Kulture Shop and Indian artist Pratap Chalke. The Rachel Heyhoe-Flint and Sir Garfield Sobers winners get a spectacular hand-painted artwork bat, while the other individual award winners will receive a limited-edition canvas painting that captures their unique passion and spirit. ( Indian Express )
