Virat Kohli Received Double Honours in 2019 Wisden

The reputation of Virat Kohli as an outstanding cricketer has been further enriched by a series of accolades from the 2019 edition of the Wisden Cricketers Almanack that was published earlier this week.

The Accolades of Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, who is going to lead the World Cup campaign for India in England, has recently been voted the leading cricketer of the world for 3 consecutive years after receiving the vote again in 2019. He has also managed to receive one accolade that has been eluding him for most of his career, getting voted as one of the Five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden, which is considered the oldest award on an individual level within the world of cricket.

Wisden Cricket Accolades Worth Mentioning

Sam Curran and Jos Buttler were also voted as one of the five cricketers after their vital roles in the summer campaigns for England along with Rory Burns, who is the championship-winning captain for Surrey, as well as Tammy Beaumont, who is another phenomenal player from the England cricket team on the women’s side.

The fellow Indian of Kohli, Smriti Mandhana, has been voted the leading cricketer when it comes to the women’s cricket game after she managed to rake in 1,291 runs in limited-over formats which included 13 half-centuries. The Afghanistan leg spinner, Rashid Khan, has been voted as the leading T20 cricketer for 2 consecutive years now.

However, Kohli was undoubtedly the dominant figure in the world of cricket for 2018, accumulating 2,735 runs on an international level at 68.37 on all formats. This is more than 700 runs than the nearest challenger who is Joe Root from the England squad.

During that time, Kohli managed to score a phenomenal 11 centuries during 37 innings, 7 of which were accumulated during India’s tour of Australia, England, and South Africa, each considered the most difficult venues for batsmen that travel overseas. His form was particularly outstanding during the Test tour of England even though India suffered a 4-1 defeat in the series. Kohli made a total of 593 runs in 5 Tests with a total of 59.30 which included hundreds at both Trent Bridge and Edgbaston.

Comments from Wisden

Wisden recently stated that “influence on, or excellence in, the previous summer in England was the major criteria for inclusion when it comes to Cricketer of the Year”, and due to the fact that Kohli has managed only 134 runs at a rate of 13.40 during his previous test tour that occurred in 2014, this was essentially his first real chance to finally claim the exclusive honour. This is not like the Leading Cricketer award which can only be achieved once in the career of a player.

“In spite of his losing side, Virat Kohli as the Indian captain managed to shine with his bat, eliminating his struggles that he endured during 2014 in England,” stated Lawrence Booth who is the editor for Wisden.