Virat Kohli wins top ICC Decade awards; Steve Smith named Test player of the Decade

India’s Virat Kohli has won two prestigious individual honours a day after becoming the only player to be in all three ICC Men’s Teams of the Decade. Kohli took home both the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade and the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade.

Kohli’s potential was evident as far back as in 2008, when he led India to a win in the ICC under-19 World Cup in 2008. His leadership qualities were evident in the early years of his international career. When India lifted the 2011 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup — with Kohli playing a vital, underrated role in the final — his words after the game spoke of someone mature beyond their years.

“Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders,” a 22-year-old Kohli said then. Over the next decade, he took that responsibility upon himself, as he became India’s leading batsman across formats.

He has 43 ODI centuries and within sight of Tendulkar’s record of 49 hundreds in the format. The standout feature of his limited-overs career has been his ability in the chase, scoring 35 centuries in ODI victories, 22 of the, coming in successful run-chases. He was also Player of the Tournament in the 2014 and 2016 ICC T20 World Cups.

In the longer format, he has been India’s most successful captain, with 33 Test victories including a memorable series win in Australia in 2018-19. He has Test hundreds in seven of the eight countries he has played in with six double hundreds in 2016 and 2017 combined, a golden period in his long-format career.

MS Dhoni wins Spirit of Cricket of the decade award

Meanwhile, former India skipper MS Dhoni has won the Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for calling England batsman Ian Bell after being given run-out controversially in Nottingham Test in 2011. In Women’s Cricket, Ellyse Perry bagged all the honours as she was named Female Cricketer of the Decade, Women’s ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Decade.

Former Australia skipper Steve Smith was honoured with the Test Cricketer of the Decade award for his impeccable transition from being a leg-spinner to World’s Number 1 batsman in the format. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been named the T20I Cricket of the Decade. Stats from January 1, 2011, to October 7, 2020, the period taken into consideration for the ICC awards.

Here’s the list of ICC Award Winners of the Decade:

Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli

Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli

Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith

Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade: MS Dhoni

Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan

Women’s Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry

Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry

Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry