2015 is going to end within a few hours and what could have been a better gift for ace cricketer Virat Kohli than to be named the cricketer of the year by BCCI. This could possibly be of the best gift for him this year.
Continuing his meteoric rise, Indian Test captain Virat Kohli was today named ‘Cricketer of the Year’, while Mithali Raj was picked for the top women’s award in the BCCI annual honours to be given away on January 5 in Mumbai.
The 27-year-old batsman, who took over as captain in the middle of the tour of Australia after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sudden retirement, delivered some good results under his leadership.
Under Kohli, the Indian team ended a 22-year wait for a series win on Sri Lankan soil before battering world No.1 South Africa to give them their first overseas loss in nine years.
The right-hander has done well with the bat too, scoring 640 runs in 15 Test innings that he played at an average of 42.67. In his 20 ODI outings this year, Kohli managed 623 runs at an average of 36.65.
Mithali, on the other hand, became the first Indian woman and second overall to complete 5,000 runs in ODI format this year. Mithali will be presented with the M A Chidambaram Trophy for the best women’s cricketer.
In other awards, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani will be presented the Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
Karnataka State Cricket Association has been chosen the state association of the year for achieving the treble of winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy in the season.
Karnataka all-rounder Robin Uthappa has been picked for the Madhavrao Scindia Award for being the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy. Uthappa scored 912 runs in 11 matches, averaging 50.66.
The top wicket-taker’s award is being shared this year by Karnataka’s R Vinay Kumar and Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, both of whom scalped 48 in the previous season.