The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of its inaugural ICC Awards of the Decade, and it hardly came as a surprise to learn who the top honours went to. Indian star Virat Kohli was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade, while Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade.
The awards aimed at recognising excellence in international cricket in the decade gone by. Kohli, who amassed 20,396 runs across all three formats during the time period, more than anyone else, was always going to be one of the top contenders for the player of the decade. Other nominees besides him were his Indian teammate Ravichandran Ashwin, England’s Joe Root, Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, Australia’s Steve Smith, South Africa’s AB de Villiers and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
Kohli was also awarded the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade, for which fellow Indians Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were also front-runners. Steve Smith, meanwhile, bagged the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade for scoring over 7,000 runs in the decade at an average of almost 66, while Afghan spinner Rashid Khan took home the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade award for his 89 wickets at just 12.62 apiece with an economy rate of 6.14. These are more wickets than anyone else despite starting only in 2015.
Meanwhile Ellyse Perry, regarded by many as the greatest player to have every played women’s cricket, swept all the awards in the female category. Besides being named the female cricketer of the decade, she was also adjudged the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade and the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade.
Former Indian captain MS Dhoni won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award, which was voted for by the fans, for his gesture of calling back former England batsman Ian Bell following a disputable run-out during a test match in 2011.
Here’s the complete list of the winners.
Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade
Virat Kohli (India)
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade
Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade
Virat Kohli (India)
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade
Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)
ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade
Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade
MS Dhoni (India)
ICC Men’s Test Team of the Decade
Alistair Cook (England), David Warner (Australia), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Virat Kohli (India – captain), Steve Smith (Australia), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka – wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (England), Ravichandran Ashwin (India), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Stuart Broad (England), James Anderson (England).
ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Decade
Rohit Sharma (India), David Warner (Australia), Virat Kohli (India), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), MS Dhoni (India – captain and wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (England), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka).
ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Decade
Alyssa Healy (Australia), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Mithali Raj (India), Meg Lanning (Australia – captain), Stefanie Taylor (West Indies), Sarah Taylor (England – wicketkeeper), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Dane Van Niekerk (South Africa), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Jhulan Goswami (India), Anisa Mohammed (West Indies).
ICC Men’s T20I Team of The Decade
Rohit Sharma (India), Chris Gayle (West Indies), Aaron Finch (Australia), Virat Kohli (India), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Glenn Maxwell (Australia), MS Dhoni (India – captain and wicketkeeper), Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Jasprit Bumrah (India).
ICC Women’s T20I Team of The Decade
Alyssa Healy (Australia – wicketkeeper), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Meg Lanning (Australia – captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Stefanie Taylor (West Indies), Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Anya Shrubsole (England), Megan Schutt (Australia), Poonam Yadav (India).
