India skipper Virat Kohli wins ICC men's ODI Player of the Decade award

India skipper Virat Kohli won the ICC men's ODI Player of the Decade award for his superb performance with the bat in the 50-over format. Kohli also walked home with the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Decade.  Kohli was nominated for the player of the decade award across all three formats.

Kohli expressed happiness over the awards and said that ICC award is a recognition of perseverance and hard work.

"Firstly, it’s a great honour for me to receive this award. The moments I hold closest to my heart in the last decade definitely has to be the World Cup win in 2011, the Champions Trophy win in 2013 and winning the series in Australia in 2018. Apart from that also there have been some very special games for Team India as well in the last decade and for me personally as well. I would not want to mention my personal knocks so much because then I will need to rate them, and I don’t like doing that. For me, every game played for India is as important and as crucial. It has just been an honour for me to go out there and perform for my team and for my country and it is a great honour for me to win this award," Kohli said in an interview to BCCI.tv.

Former Australia skipper Steve Smith won the ICC men's Test Player of the Decade award, while Afghanistan's Rashid Khan was awarded the ICC men's T20I Player of the Decade award. 

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni got the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for calling back England batsman Ian Bell back on the crease after he was ruled out by the umpire. 

Among women's cricketers, Australia's Ellyse Perry won ICC Women's Player of the Decade, ODI Player of the Decade and T20I Player of the Decade award.

Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade nominees

R Ashwin (India)
Virat Kohli (India)
Joe Root (England)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Steve Smith (Australia)
AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Kane Williamson (New Zealand

ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade nominees

MS Dhoni (India)
Virat Kohli (India)
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Rohit Sharma (India)
Mitchell Starc (Australia)
AB de Villiers (South Africa)