Wisden confers dual honour on Kohli

By Kersi Meher-Homji

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the ”˜bible’ of cricket, has honoured India’s pride and joy Virat Kohli again.

Yesterday Kohli’s reputation as a cricketer extraordinaire was further enhanced by receiving two accolades in the 2019 edition of  Wisden. He has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World of the Year for an unprecedented  third year in a row.

Smriti Mandhana, also from India, is honoured as the Leading Woman Cricketer of the Year.

Kohli has also been named as one of  Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year  along with England’s Jos Buttler and Sam Curran, Surrey’s championship winning captain Rory Burns and Tammy Beaument, England’s outstanding woman cricketer.

Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan leg-spinner, was adjudged the Leading Twenty20 Cricketer for the second successive year.

The dual honour will inspire Kohli all the more as he leads India in the 2019 World Cup in England from May to July.

In 2018, Kohli amassed 2735 runs in all international matches (Tests, One-day Internationals and T20 Internationals) at an excellent average 68.37. His aggregate of 2735 runs (including 11 centuries in 37 innings) was 700 runs more than by his nearest rival, England’s Joe Root.

I was expecting to see the names of Jasprit Bumrah and Cheteshwar Pujara among the current Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year after their sensational performances in Australia in the 2018-19 Test series. They were behind India defeating Australia in Australia for the first time ever in a Test series.

Later I realised that Wisden, being a UK publication, judges the winners mostly for their performances in England.

About time, Wisden becomes more international in its selection if it wants to be recognised as the bible of cricket!

Short URL: https://indiandownunder.com.au/?p=12994