Indian captain Virat Kohli became the first cricketer to make a clean-sweep of individual honours in the ICC annual awards, claiming the Test, ODI and overall Player of the Year trophies besides being named captain of the world body's all-star teams.
"Not only is Kohli the first player to win these three major ICC awards together, but he has also been named the captain of the ICC Test and ODI teams of the year for a fabulous run in international cricket," the ICC said in a statement on Tuesday, 22 January.
Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the player rankings while his side finished the year as the top-ranked side in Tests, and number two behind England in ODIs.
The annual awards are selected by the ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters for a voting period that ran from 1 January to 31 December 2018.
Cricketer of the Year: Virat Kohli
Kohli won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, his second consecutive, for scoring 2,735 runs in 37 matches at an average of 68.37.
Kohli was the unanimous choice for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy with South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada coming in second to him for both this award and the ICC Test Player of the Year award.
Test Cricketer of the Year: Virat Kohli
The top run-scorer in Tests with 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08, Kohli won his maiden ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year. He scored centuries in each of South Africa, England, India and Australia.
ODI Cricketer of the Year: Virat Kohli
Kohli was named ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year for the second-straight year.
He scored 1,202 ODI runs at an incredible average of 133.55 last year, and also became the fastest to reach the10,000-run mark in the format. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was runner up to Kohli for the ICC ODI Player of the Year award.
T20I Performance of the Year: Aaron Finch
For his record-breaking 172-run knock off 76 balls against Zimbabwe at Harare, Australian cricketer Aaron Finch won the ICC Men's T20I Performance of the Year.
“It was just one of those days that things seemed to go my way, so it was nice to break my own record and get a 172. After I got a hundred and I started to middle consistently, that is when I knew it was going to be a big one. It all happened pretty quick,” said Finch, remembering the knock.
ICC's Test, ODI Teams: Virat Kohli Named Captain
Kohli was also named captain of the International Cricket Council's Test and ODI teams of the year, leading the country's domination in both the line-ups.
Three players each from India and New Zealand feature in the Test team, while four each from India and England are part of the ODI side of the year 2018. The ICC will announce the individual awards later Tuesday.
"...Virat Kohli named captain of both sides following a remarkable 2018 as batsman and skipper," the ICC said in a statement.
The Test team features compatriots, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is the only player apart from Kohli to feature in both the sides.
The ODI team has opener Rohit Sharma, spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah from India along with Kohli, while England are represented by Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Kohli's 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 with five centuries in 13 Tests and 1,202 runs at an astounding average of 133.55 with six hundreds in 14 ODIs saw him selected to both sides by every voting member of the Academy with the majority of them also opting to name him at the helm of each.
India won six Tests and lost seven during the voting period. In ODIs, Kohli led India to nine victories, with four losses and one tied match.
ICC Men's Test Team of the Year (in batting order)
Tom Latham (New Zealand), Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Virat Kohli (India) (capt), Henry Nicholls (New Zealand), Rishabh Pant (India) (wk), Jason Holder (Windies), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia), Jasprit Bumrah (India), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan)
ICC Men's ODI team of the year (in batting order)
Rohit Sharma (India), Jonny Bairstow (England), Virat Kohli (India) (capt), Joe Root (England), Ross Taylor (New Zealand), Jos Buttler (England) (wk), Ben Stokes (England), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Kuldeep Yadav (India), Jasprit Bumrah (India)
Emerging Player of the Year: Rishabh Pant
India's fast-rising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was named the International Cricket Council's Emerging Player of the Year in the world body's annual awards.
The 21-year-old Pant was picked by the ICC's voting academy for a stellar show in his breakthrough Test year in 2018.
He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England, and equalled the record for the most catches taken in a Test, with 11 against Australia in Adelaide in December.
He was also the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred in Australia.
Spirit of Cricket Award: Kane Williamson
New Zealand’s captain in all formats Kane Williamson, won the the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award, “for continuing to be a shining role model of how our game should be played, his behaviour setting an outstanding example on and off the field,” ICC said in a tweet.
“We are all ambassadors of this game, so playing in the right spirit, those sorts of characteristics are really important even at the highest level. It is a nice award. It is important for us as a group that we keep looking to do better in all areas, and one of those areas is to continue playing the game in the right way, as how we see it being right.”Kane Williamson
Associate Player of the Year: Calum MacLeod
Scotland’s Calum MacLeod won the ICC Associate Player of the Year, receiving the second highest number of votes across all the individual awards. His unbeaten 157 not against Afghanistan at Bulawayo at the World Cup Qualifiers and his match-winning 140* against England were two of international cricket’s most impressive batting displays of the year.
Umpire of the Year: Kumar Dharmasena
Sri Lanka umpire Kumar Dharmasena won David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year for the second time. Hoping that this award would inspire other Sri Lanka officials, Dharmasena said,“It has been a very satisfying year for me and this award from the ICC is a great honour and privilege. This comes six years after I was first named for the award and will inspire me to keep doing the job I love so much. I have always been passionate about cricket, both as a player and an umpire and look forward to keep working hard and challenging myself in order to meet the demands of this great game”.
Fans’ Moment of the Year: India’s U19 World Cup Win
India winning the ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand was voted as the Fans’ Moment of the Year with 48 percent of the votes while Afghanistan’s miracle comeback at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier came in second with 36 percent votes.
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