India opener Rohit Sharma was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019 by the International Cricket Council after his incredible run of form through the past 12 months. The 32-year-old had a memorable 2019 when he scored 10 hundreds across formats, including five in the ODI World Cup.
India captain Virat Kohli was named in the both the ODI and Test teams of the year as ICC announced its annual awards. Kohli was named captain of both teams. He also won the Spirit of Cricket award for stopping fans from booing Australia’s Steve Smith during their World Cup match at the Oval.
“I’m surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things,” Kohli said. “It is part of camaraderie that sportsmen must have with each other. That moment was purely understanding an individual’s situation.
England’s World Cup-winning all-rounder Ben Stokes was named the Cricketer of the Year by ICC as he made it to both the Test and ODI teams of the year.
Stokes, who kept his nerve to smash an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand, aggregated 719 runs and bagged 12 wickets in 20 ODIs during the voting period. He also scored 821 runs and took 22 wickets in 11 Tests, the highlight being an unbeaten 135 to win a nail-biting Ashes thriller in Leeds.
Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was named the Test Player of the Year. He grabbed 59 wickets in 12 Test matches during the period and finished the year as the top-ranked bowler in the Test rankings.
India’s Deepak Chahar won T20I Performance of the Year while Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne was named as the Emerging Cricketer of the Year. Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer was awarded the Associate Cricketer of the Year.
Meanwhile, England umpire Richard Illingworth has become the seventh person to win the David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year. This is the first time that the 56-year-old has won the award named after the late umpire from England.
ICC Test Team of the Year: Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.
ICC ODI Team of the Year: Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
Both teams and the annual men’s individual awards sides have been selected by a voting academy, which took into consideration player performances throughout the 2019 calendar year.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!