ICC names Virat Kohli as captain of men's Test and ODI teams of 2018

The awards, which honour performances during a calendar year, saw Kohli walk into both sides which were selected by the ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters.

Kohli’s 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 with five centuries in 13 Tests and 1,202 runs at an astounding average of 133.55 with six hundreds in 14 ODIs got him selected to both sides by every voting member of the Academy with the majority of them also opting to name him at the helm of each.

Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings while his side finished the year as the top-ranked side in Tests and number two behind England in ODIs.

India won six Tests and lost seven during the voting period that ran from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2018 and included victories in South Africa, England and Australia, as also some other close matches in away series.

In ODIs, Kohli led India to nine victories, with four losses and one tied match.

Regarding his success in 2018, Kohli said: “It has been an amazing year. I was able to play in a manner that I would not have imagined. If the intention is right and you keep working hard, the results are there in front of your own eyes.

"The intent has always to be helping your team at any cost, that is when these performances come by and you are pushing yourself to the limit, which you otherwise will not be able to. That is something I experienced in 2018 a lot.”

The Test team also features his compatriots, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is the only player apart from Kohli to feature in both sides.

New Zealand also has three players in the Test squad with captain Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and opening batsman Tom Latham selected.

Five other nations make up the remainder of the Test team. The five players are Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka), Jason Holder (Windies), top-ranked Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia) and Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan).

The ODI team has opener Rohit Sharma, spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah from India along with captain Kohli, while England are represented by Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), top-ranked Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) and Ross Taylor (New Zealand) complete the ICC ODI XI.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year (in batting order):

1.     Tom Latham (New Zealand)

2.     Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)

3.     Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

4.     Virat Kohli (India) (capt)

5.     Henry Nicholls (New Zealand)

6.     Rishabh Pant (India) (wk)

7.     Jason Holder (Windies)

8.     Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

9.     Nathan Lyon (Australia)

10.  Jasprit Bumrah (India)

11.  Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan)

ICC Men’s ODI team of the year (in batting order):

1.     Rohit Sharma (India)

2.     Jonny Bairstow (England)

3.     Virat Kohli (India) (capt)

4.     Joe Root (England)

5.     Ross Taylor (New Zealand)

6.     Jos Buttler (England) (wk)

7.     Ben Stokes (England)

8.     Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)

9.     Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

10.  Kuldeep Yadav (India)

11.  Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Image: BCCI Twitter