New Delhi:
Indian captain Virat Kohli Tuesday created history by becoming the first cricketer to bag all the three individual honours in the ICC annual awards. Kohli bagged the ICC Test, ODI and overall Player of the Year awards apart from being named the captain of the International Cricket Council’s Test and ODI teams of the year following an extraordinary 2018. The Indian skipper has now become the only player in the history of the game to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Test and the ODI Player of the Year awards.
"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.
In 2018, Kohli played 37 seven matches across all the three formats -- Tests, ODIs and T20s -- and scored 2,735 runs in just 47 innings at a highly impressive average of 68.37. Besides piling up runs on the scoreboard, the Indian skipper, who first came into limelight when he led India to victory at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia in 2008, also scored 11 centuries and 9 fifties in the 2018 calendar year.
In Tests, Kohli hit five tons to score 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 in 13 Tests in the calendar year. Kohli, hailed as the greatest player to have ever played the game, was even better in ODIs and smashed 1202 runs at a staggering average of 133.55 with six centuries. The Indian skipper also scored 211 runs in 10 T20Is.
"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. Having recognition at the global level from the ICC is something you feel proud of as a cricketer because you understand that there are many players playing the game," the ICC quoted Kohli as saying.
ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year ✅
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year ✅
ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year ✅
Captain of ICC Test Team of the Year ✅
Captain of ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year ✅
Let's hear from the man himself, @imvKohli! #ICCAwards 🆠pic.twitter.com/3M2pxyC44n
The 30-year-old Delhi-lad cricketer finished the year as the number 1 batsman in both Tests and ODIs. He was the highest scorer of the year in both the forms of the game. He was one of the two batsman who scored more than 1,000 runs in Tests and only among three in ODIs.
