Kohli, Jadeja to vie for Sobers Trophy; Ashwin in race for ICC Test Cricketer of Year

Dubai: Star batter Virat Kohli and premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will vie for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award, while ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be in the race for the Test Cricketer of the Year.

Kohli and Jadeja will have to contest for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy against Australian captain Pat Cummins and his team-mate Travis Head.

Ashwin will face competition from Head and his Australia teammate Usman Khawaja along with England senior batsman Joe Root, the ICC said on Friday.

Kohli made 2048 runs in 35 matches across Tests and ODIs in 2023, including the 50th one-day hundred to go past the iconic Sachin Tendulkar during the World Cup.

Jadeja amassed 613 runs and 66 wickets in 35 matches and the numbers contained his 22-wicket haul against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy early the previous year.

Cummins garnered 422 runs and 59 wickets in 24 matches and has also led the Australians to wins in the Ashes, WTC Final and the ODI World Cup.

The head was in roaring form with the bat in 2023, evidenced by the 1698 runs in 31 matches that included hundreds in the WTC Final and the ODI World Cup final, and both the knocks were produced against India.

Meanwhile, Ashwin ended the year as the top Test bowler in the ICC Rankings, taking 41 wickets at a striking average of 17.02 and recording the most five-wicket hauls by anyone in Tests -- four.

Root was at the forefront of England’s success in Test cricket last year. He registered 787 runs in eight Tests, finishing the year with a strong average of 65.58.

Australia opener Khawaja topped the run-scoring charts in the longest format last year, amassing 1210 runs at an average of 52.60, which included three centuries.

Nominees for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Beth Mooney (Australia), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England).