India's Virat Kohli celebrates after reaching his 50th century, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of most number of ODI centuries. (REUTERS)For a year that saw him finish as the highest run scorer at a home ODI World Cup, Virat Kohli has been named as the ICC men’s ODI player of the year (2023).
Kohli, who was an integral part of India’s road to the World Cup final against Australia, finished the year with a whooping 1,377 runs in the 50-overs format which included six centuries and eight fifties.
The 35-year-old also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar as the player with most hundreds in the format when he notched up his 50th triple figure score against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal.
This is the seventh individual ICC award won by Kohli during his glittering career, and his fourth in the ODI category after previous wins in 2012, 2017 and 2018.
A half-century of CENTURIES 🤯
Virat Kohli, take a bow! 🙌#CWC23 | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/bYQlI7uhnK
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) November 15, 2023
Among other honors bestowed by the world cricket’s governing council, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the best men’s cricketer of the year.
The Aussie skipper marked the year by lifting the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship titles – emerging victorious against India on both occasions – and also retaining the Ashes in England.
Cummins is the fifth Australian to win the trophy, following Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Mitchell Johnson (2009 and 2014), Michael Clarke (2013) and Steve Smith (2015).
“It’s a huge honour. It has been a big year, lots of wonderful team success. To get this individual honour is huge and I am pretty amazed. In terms of individual accolades, it is right up there,’ Cummins said in an ICC press release.
In Tests, Cummins grabbed 42 wickets in 11 Tests during the year at an average of 27.50 whereas the right-arm quick finished with 17 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 5.74 in the ODIs.
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