Kohli, Ashwin nominated for ICC Player of the Decade Award
India skipper Virat Kohli and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Decade Award. Along with the duo, Joe Root (England), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Steve Smith (Australia), AB de Villiers (South Africa), and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) have also been nominated for the same. The full list of nominations was announced on Tuesday.
Kohli is India's most successful Test captain, while Ashwin is the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket. The likes of Root, Smith and Williamson join Kohli as the members of Fab Four. Meanwhile, de Villiers and Sangakkara have been the legends across formats.
For ODI Player of the Decade, Kohli, Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Mitchell Starc (Australia), de Villiers, Rohit Sharma (India), MS Dhoni (India), and Sangakkara have been nominated. While Dhoni remains one of the greatest Indian captains, Rohit is arguably the most prolific white-ball batsman in contemporary age. Meanwhile, Malinga and Starc have been serving the pace-bowling attack of their respective nations with precision.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Kohli, Imran Tahir (South Africa), Aaron Finch (Australia), Malinga, Chris Gayle (West Indies), and Rohit have been nominated for the Men's T20I Player of the Decade. The Universe Boss, Gayle, needs no introduction, when it comes to the shortest format. Leg-spinners Rashid and Tahir have also ruled the roost with their quirky variations. Besides, Finch is Australia's second-highest run-scorer in T20Is.
For ICC Women's Player of the Decade, Ellyse Perry (Australia), Meg Lanning (Australia), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Mithali Raj (India), Sarah Taylor (England) have been nominated. Indian legend Mithali is presently the highest run-scorer in ODIs. Star all-rounder Perry and top-order batswoman Lanning have been the backbone of Australian side. Besides, Bates, Stafaine, and Sarah have also scaled new heights.
Women's T20I Player of the Decade: Lanning, Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Perry, Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Alyssa Healy (Australia), and Anya Shrubsole (England). Women's ODI Player of the Decade: Also, Lanning, Perry, Mithali, Bates, Stafanie, and Jhulan Goswami (India). Notably, the winners will be decided by the ICC on the basis of the number of votes a player receives.
For ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade, Kohli, Williamson, Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Dhoni, Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt (England), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka), and Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) have been nominated.
