Virat Kohli sends heartfelt message after winning ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the players of the decade awards across all three formats of the game. Two stalwarts of Indian cricket - Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were among the recipients of the top honours. Kohli won the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade for his unparalleled record in the format. The 32-year old also bagged the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Decade. On the other hand, Dhoni won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for his gesture to call England's Ian Bell back to the crease after he was ruled out by the umpire.

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Virat Kohli shares profound message on winning ICC Men's Cricketer of the Decade award

After the ICC Awards 2020 were announced by the apex-board, Kohli shared a heartfelt message on being honoured with the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Decade. The official Twitter handle of the BCCI shared Kohli's message where he could be seen donning the Indian jersey.

In the video, Kohli said that he never strived to be better than anybody else but he always wanted to be the best version of himself. Accepting the honour that was bestowed upon him, Kohli stated that he is proud to receive the award because he knows that there have been a number of quality players in the last decade who have brought a lot to international cricket.

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The Indian skipper further said that getting the award doesn't give him a sense of superiority over others. According to Kohli, the award is a recognition of the perseverance and hard work that he has put in the last ten years and will continue to do so in the coming years. Notably, on Sunday, Kohli was included in all three teams of the decade by the ICC (Tests, ODIs and T20Is), making him the only player to do so.

Virat Kohli stats

Virat Kohli's stats in the last decade are simply astonishing. Kohli amassed most runs in the last decade with an unbelievable  20,396 runs to his name. The 32-year old also scored most centuries (66) and half-centuries (94) in the last decade. He also had the highest average (56.97) in the last decade.

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Previously, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting held the record for scoring most international runs in a decade with 18,962 to his credit in the 2000s. Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis is on the third position with 16,777 runs in the 2000s. Sri Lankan legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are fourth and fifth on the list of most runs scored in a decade with 16,304 and 15,999  respectively. Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar is sixth with 15,962 runs in the 2000s while his teammate Rahul Dravid is seventh with 15,853.

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SOURCE: ICC TWITTER