New Delhi: After his side went down by 135 runs in Centurion in the second Test despite him scoring a magnificent 153, Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally had something to be happy about as he was named the ICC Cricketer of the Year at the ICC awards on Thursday. Kohli also was honoured with the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and was named the skipper of both the ICC Test and ODI teams for 2017.
The Cricketer of the Year award, also known as the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy is Kohli’s first in his career. He had earlier won the ODI cricketer of the year in 2012.
The 29-year-old right-hander scored 2203 Test runs at an average of 77.80 with eight hundreds in the qualification period from September 21, 2016 to the end of 2017. In ODIs, Kohli scaled greater heights as he not only scored 1818 ODI runs averaging 82.63, but also surpassed Australian legend Ricky Ponting as the ODI batsman with most ODI hundreds (32) second only to the great Sachin Tendulkar (49).
En route to his 32nd ODI hundred which came against New Zealand in Kanpur last year, he also became the fastest to 9000 ODI runs. He also was India’s most successful captain in ODIs last year, again going past Ponting. Kohli currently is the number one ranked ODI batsman with 879 rating points.
Kohli tipped Pakistan’s Hasan Ali and teammate Rohit Sharma to win the ODI cricketer of the year award. Ali won the Emerging Cricketer of the year award.
Australian skipper Steve Smith bagged the ICC Test cricketer of the year award after he scored 1875 runs in 16 matches, averaging 78.12 with eight tons and five fifties. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan claimed the Associate Cricketer if the Year award as he bagged 60 wickets in 2017, with 43 in ODIs, both of which are records for any associate nation.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s figured if 6/25 against England in a T20I in Bengaluru last year was adjudged the T20I performance of the year.
Pakistan’s shocking victory over India in the Champions Trophy final last year was adjudged the Fans Moment of the Year.
Marais Erasmus won the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year for the second successive time while England women’s cricketer Anya Shrubsole bagged the ICC Spirit of Cricket award.