Virat Kohli named ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named Indian talisman Virat Kohli as the Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade. He has topped MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, and three other nominees for the award.
The now 32-year-old Kohli made his debut in August 2008 against Sri Lanka as a chubby and rebellious prodigy. Kohli came into his own in the 2010s and has since stamped his authority over bowling attacks all around the world.
To date, the Indian captain has made 251 ODI appearances. He has scored 12040 runs at an unparalleled average of 59.31 in these games. Kohli's 43 tons and 60 half-centuries are beyond comparison in the modern era.
The chase master's average jumps even further to a jaw-dropping 68.09 in the second innings.
The right-handed batsman is currently ranked first on the ICC ODI rankings. He is also sixth on the list of all-time highest run-scorers in ODI cricket.
Virat Kohli's unmatched ODI record over the last decade
In the last decade (2010-2019), Virat Kohli pushed the contours of ODI batting to a whole new level.
He was the most prolific run-scorer (11,125), scored the most hundreds (42), most half-centuries (52), received the most number of Man of the Match awards (35), and the most Man of the Series Awards (7) in the decade.
If that's not enough, Virat Kohli also took the most catches (117) and hit the most fours (1038) in the 2010s. Kohli also played more ODIs than any other player, which is a testament to his supreme fitness.
To put things in perspective, the second-best on the list is Rohit Sharma, who has scored 2876 runs less than Kohli in the same period. Kohli was also part of India's victorious 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy campaigns.
Virat Kohli completely owned the last decade with his masterful batting and rightly deserves the pre-eminent award for his ODI success.