Ravichandran Ashwin hails Virat Kohli for winning multiple ICC awards

Indian captain Virat Kohli had a fabulous 2018 on the ground and the International Cricket Council (ICC) honoured him with a number of prestigious awards, making it yet another memorable experience for the Indian fans. Kohli was conferred Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year, the Test player of the year and also ODI player of the year.

The 30-year-old delivered like a run machine throughout the year and across formats. In Tests, he scored 1,322 runs in 13 games (average of 55.08) with two very successful overseas tours with the bat – of South Africa and England while in the ODIs, he amassed 1,202 runs in 14 matches at an average of 133.55. He picked 11 centuries in all during the year – five in Tests and six in ODIs, three of which came in consecutive matches against the Windies. Kohli finished as the ICC’s top-ranked batsman in both Tests and ODIs.

“It feels amazing. It’s a reward for all the hard work that you do throughout the calendar year. I feel really grateful and very, very happy with the team doing well at the same time myself performing,” Kohli told the ICC.

Kohli was also named the captain of Test & ODI teams of the year

An added feather to Kohli’s crown was the fact that he was named the captain for both the Test and ODI teams of the year. Although India lost two overseas Test series (South Africa and England), they also came up with some positives like defeating the Proteas in the ODIs and T20Is in their den; beating England in the T20I series on their soil and wrapping up the Australia tour with wins in Test and ODI series.

Ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been part of some of the crucial series that India played in the long format, applauded Kohli on Twitter, calling it a “terrific terrific achievement”.

Terrific terrific achievement.. Well done @imVkohli 👏 https://t.co/7QT5QnFtYR

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) January 22, 2019

Kohli was picked unanimously by a 36-member voting panel and among other Indians, wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant made significant gains and was honoured as the Emerging Cricketer of the Year.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.