Kolkata: Virat Kohli, India’s cricket captain, has been named ICC Cricketer of the Decade for the period between 2011 and 2020 today.
Kohli, who had scored 20,396 runs in all international cricket during the time period, which is more than anyone else, was also part of team India that won the ICC CWC 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He was also named ICC Cricketer of the Year in both 2017 and 2018, so it was no surprise that he emerged as the clear jury favourite with winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade.
Australian allrounder Ellyse Perry was a clear favourite in the Female Cricketer of the Decade category and won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award, as she had scored 4,349 runs with four centuries and took 213 wickets in all international cricket during the decade – which was also the most wickets taken by any player.
Perry was also part of the Australian team that won ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2013 and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020 and also won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for leading Women’s Cricketer in 2017 and 2019. She also went on to win the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade as well as the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade.