The annual ICC awards were declared on 15th January. Ben Stokes won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy which is given to the best player of the world in a year. Rohit Sharma won the ODI Cricketer of the year award & Pat Cummins won Test Cricketer of the Year award.However our amazing captain Virat Kohli has won 3 awards! He has won the award for Best ODI Captain and Best Test Captain as well. 

‘Spirit of Cricket Award’ is an award given by the ICC. This award is given to the person for "upholding the 'Spirit of the Game', respecting opponents, captain and umpires.Virat Kohli was given this award as well. 

Virat Kohli says he is surprised at winning the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket Award. Because for years he did the wrong things, getting angry, etc.At a test match in Australia, the crowd was continuously heckling Kohli. Kohli got extremely angry and showed his middle finger. He was then fined 50 percent of his match fees by the ICC. This is why Virat Kohli was very surprised to receive the award. However, Virat Kohli has changed a lot. 3 years ago Virat Kohli accused Australian Bowler Steve Smith of Ball tampering. Smith was then found guilty and given a 1 year suspension from cricket. 

In the 2019 World Cup, Smith played his first match after his 1 year suspension. DUring the match, people in the stadium started booing and heckling Smith.Virat Kohli then turned to the crowd and told them to stop. 

Explaining his reasons, Kohli said, “That moment was purely understanding an individual’s situation. I don’t think a guy who is coming out of a situation like that needs to be taken advantage of.”Intimidate the opposition, definitely try and have an upper hand but in a matter that is not targeting someone emotionally.

Tags

• ICC
• Virat Kohli
• Spirit of the Game
• Award

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