3 players who could win ICC ODI player of the year award 

2019 was a special year for One Day International cricket as it saw one of the most entertaining ODI World Cups of all time.

The ODIs that the teams played in the build-up to the World Cup were magnificent as well. No team was leaving any stone unturned to ensure that they were fully prepared for the show-piece tournament, as a result of which, the spectators got to see some thrilling ODIs.

There were a few cricketers who not only put their hands up for their team in the World Cup, they performed consistently well in the ODIs throughout 2019. They will surely be in contention for ICC ODI player of the year award.

Here are the 3 players who could win ICC ODI player of the year award.

#1 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma was the leading run scorer in ODIs in 2019. He played 28 games and scored 1490 runs at an average of 57.30 and a strike rate of 89.92. The Indian vice-captain scored 7 hundreds and 6 fifties with the highest score of 159 that he registered in the last ODI series he played against West Indies.

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Rohit scored the most number of runs in the World Cup as well. The 32-year-old averaged more than 80 in the 9 games that he played in the ODI World Cup 2019, piling on a total of 648 runs with 5 hundreds. Nobody before Rohit had ever scored 5 hundreds in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.

Given his performances in the World Cup and his consistency in 50-over cricket right through the year, Rohit is the prime contender to win ICC ODI player of the year award.

#2 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes might not be in top 5 in the list of leading run-scorers or the list of leading wicket-takers in 2019, but he contributed in both facets of the game for England on a regular basis.

Stokes scored 719 runs in the 20 ODIs he played for England in 2019, averaging 59.91 and striking the ball at the rate of 92.53 runs per 100 balls. He also took 12 wickets at an economy rate of 5.69.

More importantly, Stokes turned up for England when they needed him the most. It was his knock of 84 in the World Cup Final which dragged England to a tie. And then he scored some more crucial runs in the super over as well.

Stokes was the second highest scorer for England in the World Cup after Jonny Bairstow as he finished with a tally of 465 runs in 11 games. The 28-year-old is another strong contender for the ODI player of the year award for his all-round performances.

#3 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Virat has hardly had a poor season in ODI cricket since he has made his debut for India and 2019 was no different. He was second in the list of the leading run scorers as he finished the year with 1377 runs, averaging close to 60.

The Indian captain was only second to his deputy Rohit Sharma in terms of his runs’ tally in the World Cup as well, as he scored 443 runs in 9 games at an average of 55.37 and a strike rate of 94.05. However, he couldn’t convert his 50s into 100s in the World Cup as frequently as he does otherwise.

Virat scored 5 ODI hundreds and 7 ODI fifties in 2019, but none of those hundreds came in the World Cup. He scored 5 fifties in the World Cup with the highest score of 82. However, his consistency and the fact that he captained India really well in the ODIs in 2019 puts him in the competition for the ODI player of the year award.