Virat Kohli wins ICC Men's Player of the Month for October, says, 'I want to pay tribute to...'

Virat Kohli on Monday won the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for October, beating the likes of Sikander Raza and David Miller. Kohli has been in sensational form for the past couple of months, and his incredible contribution in India's march to the semifinals of T20 World Cup 2022 has seen the former India skipper being recognised by ICC as well. 

In the past, the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shreyas Iyer have also been adjudged as ICC's Player of the Month. 

The 34-year-old who recently celebrated his birthday has been in red-hot form since the Asia Cup 2022. Virat finished the tournament as the second-highest-run scorer behind Mohammad Rizwan, and he is the current leading run-scorer of T20 World Cup wherein Kohli has smashed three fifties in just five innings. 

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Some of his performances in the shortest format have been truly inspirational, including the unbeaten 82-run knock against Pakistan on October 23, which helped the Men in Blue salvage a last-ball win. 

In four innings during the month of October, the Delhi-born batsman smashed two fifties, as he helped India finish top of their group and qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup. 

After seeing his contributions recognised by ICC, Virat thanked the global cricket body for the accolade. 

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ICC individual awards of Virat Kohli:

ICC Cricketer of the decade
ICC ODI Cricketer of the decade
ICC Cricketer of the year
ICC ODI player of the year
ICC Test player of the year
ICC player of the month for October

King rules World Cricket.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 7, 2022

"It is a great honour for me to have been voted the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for October. Being chosen as the standout player by fans across the globe as well as the panel makes this accolade even more special for me," he said after winning the top prize. 

Virat further added, "I want to pay tribute to the other nominees who performed so well during the month and also to my teammates, who continue to support me to perform to the best of my ability."

Apart from the 82-run inning against Pakistan, Virat had also scored an unbeaten 49-run knock against South Africa in Guwahati. 

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He helped India steer past Babar Azam's men, before recording back-to-back fifties, by hitting an unbeaten 62 from 44 balls against the Netherlands. 

Kohli will be hoping to continue his red-hot form as Rohit Sharma and Co will lock horns with England in the semifinal on November 10 at Adelaide.