Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Virat Kohli is CEAT T20 Player of the Year; Shashtri wants him as Captain for all 3 formats!

R Ashwin won the CEAT International Bowler of the Year award while Rohit Sharma was named as Indian Cricketer of the Year.

Thundering batsman Virat Kohli on Monday was named CEAT T20 Player of the Year. In the recently concluded IPL tournament, Kohli had a dream run and grabbed the orange cap with 973 runs in his kitty.
In a glittering function held at Mumbai, former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award that was attended by several past and present players in Mumbai.
English batsman Joe Root was named both as the CEAT International Cricketer and Batsman of the Year. R Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner, won the CEAT International Bowler of the Year award whereas Rohit Sharma was named as the Indian Cricketer of the Year. Virat Kohli has been in his best form in the shortest format recently, as he was also named the Player of the Tournament in the World T20 held in India earlier this year.
Retired Aussie Cricketer Mathew Hayden said that Virat Kohli is a special blend of consistency and power, presence of mind, and passion for the game. Ashwin said that Kohli is a 'thorough and honest' captain. But it was former India team director and all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that Virat Kohli is ready to take over the captaincy from MS Dhoni across all formats, and it is the right time to make the switch "in the interest of Indian cricket."
It is to be noted here that Kohli already leads the Indian Test Team, from which Dhoni has retired, but Dhoni still leads in the shorter formats. In the coming days, India will play a lot more Tests than limited-overs cricket, and Shastri said "the gaps" in play for Dhoni will be hard on him. The former director said he would "definitely be thinking" of naming Kohli captain across formats if he were a selector. "I definitely think Kohli should be given the job across formats," Shastri told India Today Television. "You have to see where India is going to go three years down the line. There are no major events till about three years down the line when you are back with the World Cup. So, this is your best time to think and build."
"India play hardly any one-day cricket if you see the next 18 months-two years, and the gaps between Tests and ODIs are massive. So, here's your time to look ahead and see what you can do with an Indian side all-round three years down the line. If I am the chairman of selectors, I would be thinking in that direction, no question about it."
The complete list of CEAT Awards winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award – Dilip Vengsarkar
International Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root
International Batsman of the Year – Joe Root
International Bowler of the Year – R Ashwin
Test Cricketer of the Year – Kane Williamson
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Martin Guptill
T20 Player of the Year – Virat Kohli
Indian Cricketer of the Year –Rohit Sharma
Domestic Cricketer of the Year – Shreyas Iyer
Young Player of the Year – Rishabh Pant
Special Award – Ajinkya Rahane  

The article first published on www.lafdatv.com

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