Virat Kohli, the batting superstar, received his ICC ODI Player of the Year award and was selected for the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year 2023 in New York, as his team gears up for the T20 World Cup opener against Ireland on June 5. The official ICC Instagram handle shared a video on Saturday (June 1) morning, showcasing Virat receiving his trophy and cap, acknowledging his outstanding performance with the bat in 2023.
The 35-year-old experienced another enormous peak in his remarkable career in 2023, following several years of erratic form and struggle for massive scores. In 27 ODIs, he scored 1,377 runs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate of 99.13, including six hundreds and eight fifties over 24 innings. His highest score was 166*.
Key performance, record-breaking ODI
He was instrumental in India’s Asia Cup 2023 victory, striking an undefeated 122* in 94 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan in a pivotal Super Four stage match.
Later, at the ODI World Cup held at home last year, Virat performed an all-timer campaign, hitting 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62, including three centuries, six half-centuries, and the highest score of 117.
He finished the tournament as the best scorer, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 673 runs set in the 2003 World Cup. He also broke Sachin’s ODI record of 49 tonnes by scoring his 50th tonne against New Zealand in the semifinals.
T20 World Cup, IPL success
Virat will now represent India at the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be hosted in the West Indies and the United States. He enters this event having won the Orange Cap for the most runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hitting 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of more than 154, including a century and five fifties. His greatest score is 113*.