MS Dhoni Wins ICC 'Spirit Of Cricket' Award Of The Decade

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman and the only captain to win all the three ICC events- 50-over World Cup, T20 WC and Champions Trophy- MS Dhoni has won the ICC ‘Spirit of Cricket Award’ of the decade, beating his former teammate Virat Kohli, who was one of the nominees for his brilliant gesture during the 2019 World Cup where he had asked Indian fans to stop booing Steve Smith.

Dhoni received the award for his gesture of calling back England batsman Ian Bell after a controversial run-out during the third innings of the Nottingham Test way back in 2011.

”MS DHONI wins the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade. The former India captain was chosen by fans unanimously for his gesture of calling back England batsman Ian Bell after a bizarre run out in the Nottingham Test in 2011,” ICC wrote on its official Twitter handle.

When MS Dhoni recalled Ian Ball to uphold ‘Spirit of Cricket’

Coming back to the incident, it all happened in the second Test of the four-match series during India’s forgettable tour of England in 2011 at Trent Bridge when MS Dhoni withdrew his run-out appeal against Ian Bell, who under the rules of the game, would have been given out and he was indeed given out, leading to raucous boos from the English crowd.

The incident happened at the stroke of Tea during England’s second innings when Eoin Morgan flicked one off Ishant Sharma towards deep square-leg, where Praveen Kumar made a good save and threw the ball back to the keeper Dhoni. However, the duo of Morgan and Bell had assumed that the ball had gone over the boundary rope and by the time the ball was thrown back to MSD, Ian Bell was seen jogging carelessly, thinking that it was the end of the session.

>MS Dhoni, however, dislodged the stumps and appealed for a run-out. After a bit of a delay, the umpire ruled the decision in India’s favor, adjudging Bell run-out, leading to the English fans vociferously booing Dhoni and the Indian team. The boos continued when the Indian team strolled out on the field for the final session. But the boos immediately turned into cheers when the crowd saw Ian Bell walk out to bat.

Dhoni had withdrawn the appeal during the Tea break and Bell was given a lucky escape. Bell was eventually dismissed at 159 but half-centuries from Eoin Morgan [70], Matt Prior [73] and Tim Bresnan [90] ensured that England finished at 544, giving India an improbable target of 477. India managed a mere 158 and lost the game by a whopping margin of 319 runs.

?? MS DHONI wins the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade ??

The former India captain was chosen by fans unanimously for his gesture of calling back England batsman Ian Bell after a bizarre run out in the Nottingham Test in 2011.#ICCAwards | #SpiritOfCricket pic.twitter.com/3eCpyyBXwu

— ICC (@ICC) December 28, 2020