Indian Captain Virat Kohli Wins 2019 ICC Spirit Of Cricket Award
Jan 15, 2020 at 9:26 PM
Indian skipper Virat Kohli was ripped off of the prestigious awards from last year’s ICC awards stage. The aggressive hitter, however, was bestowed with the 2019 ICC Spirit of Cricket award. And while it is of utmost honour to be awarded an ICC title, it was unlikely for Kohli to have performed average in comparison to the previous performances.
The top-ranked ODI and Test batsman lifted not one or two but three prestigious awards of ICC last year. He was named for the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year awards for his performances in the year 2018. Whereas, he also lifted the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year following his impeccable journey in 2018. He became the first cricketer to win all these trophies in the same year.
Kohli wins ICC Spirit of Cricket award for his amiable gesture at the field with Smith
However, the India skipper could not carry on to hold any of those three titles this year even after he maintained his position in the ODI and Test batting rankings. While Kohli was named the ICC Spirit of Cricket award 2019, India’s limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma and English all-rounder Ben Stokes won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and Sir Garfield Sobers Awards respectively.
Nevertheless, the gradual change in the aggressive attitude of the top-ranked batsman has made him the sportsman for which Kohli earned the inspiring title at the latest ICC awards. With his consistent performance and sportsmanship attitude on the field, Kohli has become a player that every youngster follows.
During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 encounter, Kohli’s gesture for the Australian cricketer Steven Smith was awe-inspiring for all his fans as well as the cricket. While every cricket lover was busy booing Smith who just returned to his team after serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering, Kohli asked the fans in the stadium to rather cheer Smith who later appreciated his gesture in the game.
“Yeah, it was a lovely gesture. It doesn’t really bother me what the crowd do to be perfectly honest, I’m just sort of blocking it all out but it was a lovely gesture from Virat, that’s for sure,” Smith had said after the game.
Who remembers this gesture from Virat Kohli during #CWC19?
The Indian captain is the winner of the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award 🙌 #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/Z4rVSH8X7x
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020