The year 2018 will be remembered by Virat Kohli for a long time. On Tuesday he created history by becoming the first player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year. The awards don’t just stop at that, ViratKohli also becomes the first cricketer ever to win the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year awards in the same year. The heart-throb of the nation has also been named the captain of ICC’s Test and ODI team of 2018. It was heart-warming to watch him bat in the year 2018. Kohli scored a mammoth of 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 in mere 13 tests which included five centuries in the calendar year and in 14 ODIs he blitzed to 1202 runs at a bamboozled average of 133.55 with six centuries.

The significance of his achievement can be gauged by the fact that several cricket veterans like Sir Viv Richards to Sunil Gavaskar, have praised and congratulated Virat Kohli for his awards & recent success of Indian Team overseas.

A good amount of credit of India’s comprehensive win goes to Virat Kohli and his captaincy. His leadership standards the ability to perform under pressure and to able to lead by example put him in one of the all-time greats of the sport. The 30-year old is just seemed to have started and there is a long career ahead of him and we won’t be surprised to see him take a place in the pantheon of cricketing legends.

In an exclusive interview by icc-cricket.com Kohli quoted “It feels amazing. It’s a reward for all the hard work that you do throughout the calendar year. I feel really grateful and very, very happy with the team doing well at the same time myself performing. Having recognition at the global level from the ICC is something you feel proud of as a cricketer because you understand that there are many players playing the game,”

“To be rewarded in this manner from amongst all of them is obviously a very proud moment for me and something that gives you more motivation to keep repeating the same things because you have to keep the standard of cricket up and keep bringing in consistent performances. From that point of view, these awards give you that extra motivation,” Kohli added.

“Sincere congratulations to every one of our individual winners and those players named in our ICC Test and ODI teams of the year. Special mention must go to Virat Kohli, who becomes the first ever player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers award along with Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year and be named as captain of both teams,  ” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said about Kohli.

“This is well-deserved recognition for extraordinary talent. His regard for the game and particularly for Test cricket is also recognized and appreciated. He is passionate in his support of the longest form of the game and its continued importance. To be recognized as a true cricketing great you need to be successful at all formats of the game and Virat has become a great ambassador for our sport,” he added.

A renowned sports expert with a hint of aggression required to get to where he is today, Kohli is a true role model for the youth of India. Not only has he proved that time and again India can provide to the world legendary cricketers but also world-class sportsmen, not long ago Kohli has been rated 8^th in ESPN’s top 10 most popular sportsmen in the world, preceded by the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer and more. And he belongs here, as the nation celebrates ViratKohli’s successes All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) would like to re-emphasise on the letter written to the PMO requesting Shri Narendra Modi ji  to recommend to the President for Bharat Ratna– the country’s highest civilian honour to Virat Kohli for his honourable contribution to Indian & world cricket and being an ambassador for a top-class athlete and a youth role model of the nation.

This article was written exclusively for All India Gaming Federation by Sanjog Naik