Virat Kohli has been named captain of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test and ODI teams of the year following a outstanding 2018 as batsman and skipper. Virat Kohli’s performance in 2018 was extraordinary as a captain and also as a batsman. Virat Kohli has been selected as a captain for test and ODI teams by the ICC Voting Academy* comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters.

Virat Kohli’s 2018 Performance

• Kohli scored 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 with five centuries in 13 Tests.
• Kohli scored 1,202 runs at an astounding average of 133.55 with six hundreds in 14 ODIs.

Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings. England and India are ranked No.1 and No.2 on the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Team rankings. Kohli was named captain as he led India to nine wins from the 14 games he played. Overall, India won 14 games and lost just four, while being involved in a couple of tied matches.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year (in batting order):

1. Tom Latham (New Zealand)
2. Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)
3. Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
4. Virat Kohli (India) (capt)
5. Henry Nicholls (New Zealand)
6. Rishabh Pant (India) (wk)
7. Jason Holder (Windies)
8. Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
9. Nathan Lyon (Australia)
10. Jasprit Bumrah (India)
11. Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan)

ICC Men’s ODI team of the year (in batting order):

1. Rohit Sharma (India)
2. Jonny Bairstow (England)
3. Virat Kohli (India) (capt)
4. Joe Root (England)
5. Ross Taylor (New Zealand)
6. Jos Buttler (England) (wk)
7. Ben Stokes (England)
8. Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)
9. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
10. Kuldeep Yadav (India)
11. Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Tidbits:

• Kohli has been the recipient of many awards such as the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2017; ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2012, 2017 and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2016, 2017.
• He was given the Arjuna Award in 2013, the Padma Shri under the sports category in 2017[14] and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour in India, in 2018.
• As of January 2019, Kohli has scored 25 Test and 39 ODI centuries which makes him the second most successful centurion in ODI cricket after Sachin Tendulkar.