Virat Kohli Among 3 Indian Cricketers Nominated For ICC ODI Cricketer Of The Year 2023

The International Cricket Council has revealed the names who have made it to the Top 4 shortlist for the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award and the top story is that only 1 Non-Indian has made it to the list and that exception is New Zealand’s, Daryl Mitchell. Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Shami for their incredible contribution to India’s success throughout the packed 2023 calendar year, are most likely to win the yearly award.

Ever since the concept of awarding the best ODI player with an ICC individual award was brought in 2004, Indians have won it the most even if it took 4 years for an Indian to win it. Andrew Flintoff won the inaugural edition, and Countryman Kevin Pietersen won the following.

And after Micheal Hussey and Matthew Hayden in 2006 and 2007, the Iconic MS Dhoni ended the wait and became the ODI cricketer of the year twice in a row in 2008 & 09. Since then Virat Kohli himself has won it twice (2012 & 2018) while Skipper Rohit Sharma won it the next year in (2019).

It’s been 5 years since an Indian won and it seems as if the wait will not extend. Anyone of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Mohammad Shami is going to win and there are very little chances of Daryl Mitchell becoming the first Kiwi to win the award, despite scoring 1204 runs in 2023.

Kohli, Gill and Shami’s Performances Overshadow Daryl Mitchell’s Efforts

Daryl was a key component for New Zealand in 2023 and without him, they couldn’t have reached the semi-finals. He was the Blackcaps’ 2nd highest run score in the Cricket World Cup with 552 runs, behind left-hand batter Rachin Ravindra with 578 runs. Daryl Mitchell’s average in the WC was 69.

Tough Fight To Choose Between Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Shami

All of India’s 3 nominations have performed exceptionally well for the team at different times and on chosen different occasions to shine. Shubman Gill scored a lot of runs last year in ODIs and broke the records of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly’s ODI run tally in a season.

He scored 1584 runs at a scary average of 63.36 including 5 Centuries, 1 Double Century, and 8 half-centuries. Gill also scored 354 runs in India’s course to the Finale.

His senior Virat Kohli who will be vying for his 3rd ICC ODI Men’s Cricketer of the year, had a well-accomplished year of his own in which he found his old self back, broke Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record but they came at the expense of WTC Final and the CWC Final. If Virat Kohli had won them, it would have been the best performance ever by an ODI cricketer in a season.

Nonetheless, Kohli finished 2023 with 1377 runs in 27 matches, an average of almost 75, and struck the remaining 6 Centuries required to complete 50 Hundreds and overtake the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. He also finished as the highest run scorer of CWC 2023 with 765 runs and 3 centuries.

Lastly, Mohammed Shami who was an emergency entrant in India’s playing XI in the World Cup, had a revolutionary campaign that included some unbelievable spells, figures, and wickets. Shami took 43 wickets throughout 2023 in 19 matches and more than half of his wickets came during the World Cup.

That speaks about what sort of a campaign he had, picking up a five-wicket haul on his first CWC 2023 outing. Shami went on to pick 19 wickets in 6 matches including career best of 7 wickets. Although he could not win the World Cup and shares a commonality with Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, it remains to be seen if an Indian can touch an ICC trophy at last.