England vs India 2018: Virat Kohli honoured with back-to-back 'International Cricketer of the Year' awards by Barmy Army

What's the story?

Indian Cricket Team skipper, Virat Kohli, was presented with the International Cricketer of the Year award for 2017 as well as 2018 by the Barmy Army after the conclusion of day one of India's practice game against Essex on Wednesday (July 25).

The right-handed batsman has been an exceptional performer for India over the last few seasons, compiling runs at the international level in all formats of the game.

In case you didn't know..

Kohli has been in riveting form for India in the last couple of summers and was named as the captain of the ICC Team of the Year in ODI as well as Tests in 2017. He also won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award in the same season.

The Indian team is currently in the middle of a full-fledged tour of England, wherein the visitors are set to take on Joe Root and Co. for an extensive Test series.

The details

The England fan association decided to honour Kohli with the two awards in Chelmsford yesterday. While the award for 2017 had been declared beforehand, it was physically presented to the captain on the same day.

The BCCI took to Twitter to break the news to the fans and followers of Indian cricket.

What's next?

The opening Test between England and India will commence in Birmingham on Wednesday (August 1). It will be the first game of a five-match series that will extend to the first week of September.

Kohli will look to shake off the demons of his torrid tour to the country in 2014 and try to rewrite history as a batsman, as well as a captain. It will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of captaincy on such a high-profile tour, more so against an opposition that dominates thoroughly on home soil.