"When he failed..." - Sanjay Manjrekar's first reaction to Virat Kohli winning ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar heaped rich praise on Virat Kohli for winning the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2023. He said that he wasn’t surprised to see Batter winning the award because he was expected him to be at his best in the World Cup year.

India batter Virat Kohli on Thursday (25th January) was announced as the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2023 for his enthralling show in the 50-over format. The batter scripted history as he achieved the award fourth time in his career, having won it in 2012, 2017, and 2018.

Virat Kohli was at his best in the ODI cricket in 2023 and had a dream year. He kickstarted the year on high with a century against Sri Lanka and then didn’t look back. His best came in the ICC World Cup 2023 as he brought out his best to help the team reach the final.

The batter played sensationally well and ended the tournament as the leading run-getter with 765 runs to his name from 11 innings. He also had an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.3 to go with three centuries to his name. His tally of 765 runs was most by the any batter in the single edition of the 50-over World Cup.

During the tournament, Virat Kohli also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in the ODIs. The batter brought up his 50th ton in the semi-final against New Zealand and helped his team advance to the final against Australia, who won the tournament.

Virat Kohli, who won Player of the Tournament in ICC World Cup 2023, scored 1377 runs at an average of 72.47 in the ODIs in 2023. Apart from this, the batter also racked up six centuries and eight half-centuries in 24 innings that he played.

Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted his prediction and revealed that he was expecting the batter to be No.1 in the format because of the World Cup. Speaking to Star Sports, he explained:

“I wasn’t surprised with Virat Kohli winning the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2023. I was anticipating, I predicted that it’s a World Cup year, he will be the No.1 batter. Virat has mastered the 50-over cricket. What was impressive was his batting in the first innings, the way he played.”

He’s known as a master chaser but this World Cup, he proved that he’s a master target setter – Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli

Sanjay Manjrekar further added that Virat Kohli proved himself as the master of target setter. He pointed out that when the batter failed, the team struggled to get going, highlighting the dependency on the right-hander. He explained:

“He’s known as a master chaser but this World Cup, he proved that he’s a master target setter. When he failed, India felt the pressure. Huge dependency on Virat Kohli in 50-over cricket. He’s a master and congratulations to him on winning the award.”

Overall, Virat Kohli had a staggering year in international cricket. He scored 2,048 runs in 36 international innings and was the second leading run-getter only behind Shubman Gill, who mustered 2154 runs.