ICC Awards 2020: 3 Indian stars among 7 players nominated in ODI Player of the Decade category

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its nominations for the Player of the Decade awards in various categories.

For the ICC Men's ODI Player of the Decade, three Indians have been nominated among seven players.

The three Indians on the illustrious list are expected names -- current skipper Virat Kohli, limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The other four prominent names on the list are Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga, Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, South African batting genius AB de Villiers and former Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

Amazing ODI records of players nominated for ICC Awards 2020

Rohit Sharma

Virat Kohli made his ODI debut back in August 2008, against Sri Lanka at Dambulla, and has flourished over the last decade. To date, he has played 248 one-day internationals and has amassed 11867 runs at an average of 59.33, with 43 hundreds and 58 fifties at a strike rate of 93.25.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has featured in 224 one-dayers and has amassed 9115 runs at an average of 49.27, with 29 hundreds and 43 fifties. He is the only cricketer with three ODI double hundreds. At the 2019 World Cup, he scored a record five centuries.

The third Indian on the list, MS Dhoni, ended his one-day career with exactly 350 matches. He amassed 10773 runs at an average of 50.57 and a strike rate of 87.56, with 10 hundreds and a whopping 73 fifties. Apart from his batting skills, Dhoni also led India to triumphs in the 2011 World Cup at home and the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, the last ICC trophy in India’s kitty.

AB de Villiers, on the other hand, finished his ODI career with 9577 runs in 228 matches at an average of 53.50, with 25 hundreds and 53 fifties at an excellent strike rate of 101.09. He holds the record for the fastest hundred in ODIs -- (31 balls vs West Indies, 2015).

Sri Lankan’s former captain Kumar Sangakkara featured in 404 ODIs during his illustrious career and amassed 14234 runs at an average of 41.98, with 25 hundreds and 93 fifties. In 2015, he became the first player to notch up four consecutive hundreds in the World Cup.

Among the bowlers, Lasith Malinga picked up 338 wickets in 226 ODIs at an average of 28.87. In the 2019 World Cup, he became the fastest bowler to claim 50 wickets in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc has 183 scalps from 94 ODIs. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the last two World Cups, with 22 and 27 wickets respectively.