The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced nominees for player of the decade awards in various categories on November 24. These awards are set to honor players that have made remarkable contributions to their nation between 2011 and 2020.
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli has been nominated in almost every category. Kohli is up for the best player, best ODI player, best T20 player, and best test player. He is also nominated for the spirit of cricket award of the decade. Considering the staggering consistency in performances, Kohli is likely to win at least two awards.
Along with Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin is also nominated for the best player of the decade award. Ashwin has been one of the most consistent bowlers for the Indian team across all formats in the past ten years. Ashwin remains an integral part of the test team but lost his place to younger wrist spinners in the limited-overs format.
Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have also been nominated for ODI player of the decade. The former is also in the running for T-20 player of the decade. Sharma has become one of the best Indian openers in limited overs format during the last decade, while Dhoni did a phenomenal job in the middle order until his retirement in 2020.
Mithali Raj is the Indian representative in Women’s player of the decade. Raj has been scoring consistently for India across all formats in the last decade. She has also been nominated for ODI women’s player of the year along with Jhulan Goswami. Both players have a strong case for winning this award for their longevity and consistency at the highest level.
The voting for these awards is now live on ICC’s website. Considering the flurry of nominations for Indian players in these awards, it shows that Indian cricket is moving in the right direction. BCCI still has to do a lot more for the women’s cricket in the country to make sure that they continue to churn out legends like Raj and Goswami. Meanwhile, the men’s team has also witnessed some special players during the last decade.