MS Dhoni has emerged as the clear winner in the ICC ODI player of the decade award, according to a poll conducted by DNA India. In the poll which was conducted on Wednesday, MS Dhoni accumulated about 39.2 percent of the vote while Virat Kohli came a close second with 37.1 percent. Rohit Sharma was a distant third with 22.2 percent of the votes while the others managed a very negligible number. MS Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on August 15, 2020, bringing an end to a stellar 16-year career that has seen him achieve many great heights.
The ICC Player of the Decade award is a one-of-a-kind award and Indians have dominated the list of nominations. There are seven categories of awards and they are Men’s Player of the Decade, Women’s ODI Player of the Decade, Women’s Player of the Decade, Men’s ODI Player of the Decade, Men’s Test Player of the Decade, Men’s T20I Player of the Decade and the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade. Virat Kohli is the only Indian to be present in all five men’s categories while Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are in the ODIs with Kohli while Ravichandran Ashwin is in the Tests
MS Dhoni is only the second wicketkeeper batsman to score over 10,000 runs behind Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. MS Dhoni holds the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper batsman in ODIs when he smashed 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur in 2005. However, it is his captaincy that has made him one of the standouts of international cricket.
Brilliance of Captain Cool
MS Dhoni is the only captain in history to have won all three major ICC trophies during his tenure. In 2007, he won the ICC World T20 and in 2011, he won the ICC 50-over World Cup after 28 years. In 2013, he completed the set by winning the ICC Champions Trophy in England. MS Dhoni has also won the Asia Cup in both ODI and T20I formats while he has an ODI series win against all sides as captain in world cricket barring South Africa in South Africa.
MS Dhoni has also won the IPL and CLT20 for Chennai Super Kings, meaning he has won every trophy that is available in limited overs cricket. MS Dhoni is only the third captain in ODI history to have won 100 games as skipper, behind Australia’s Ricky Ponting and Allan Border. With all these achievements, it will be a major surprise if MS Dhoni does not win the ICC ODI Player of the Decade Award.
Men’s ODI Player of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Mitchell Starc (Australia), AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma (India), MS Dhoni (India), and Kumara Sangakkara (Sri Lanka).
