Kohli racked up in excess of 11,000 runs in the 2010s decade and averaged about 60 thumping 42 centuries to his name. He played a leading role in helping India clinch the ICC ODI World Cup trophy in 2011 and thereon the prolific batsman was the chief architect behind India's 2013 Champions Trophy victory.
"Virat Kohli turned himself into the greatest judge of a one-day chase in history. In the 2010s, he notched up 11,125 ODI runs, nearly 3,000 clear of the next player in the list, Rohit Sharma. He made 42 centuries at an average of 60 and a strike-rate of 94. And in successful run-chases, he averaged an astonishing 95," said Wisden editor Lawrence Booth.
England's all-rounder Ben Stokes was named as Wisden's leading cricketer in the world while India's Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are part of the coveted list of greatest ODI players.
Moreover, in the 158th edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2021, Mohammad Rizwan managed to feature in the five cricketers of the year list as the wicket-keeper batsman has been in red-hot form of late, showing his penchant for scoring big runs.
Also, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan won the title of ODI cricketer of the 2000s decade. He played an instrumental role in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2011 and got 335 wickets in the ten years.
Going back to the 90s, Sachin Tendulkar was named the ODI cricketer in the era when many legends of the game played. In 1998, the little master was in the form of his life and scored nine ODI centuries. Turning the clock to the 80s, Kapil Dev bagged the cricketer of the decade award. He played many match-winning performances in the triumphant 1983 World Cup campaign.
It has been difficult to organise cricket with many series in limbo and the unique challenges owing to the Covid-19 pandemic made it a herculean task to continue cricket. With humanity grappling with one of the greatest global health crisis, the focus was inevitably away from cricket.
"Cricket has never been less important than in 2020 – and never more. As coronavirus spread, it seemed frivolous to wonder when the season might start, or whether anyone would be there to watch; months later, with the UK’s death toll into six figures, even writing about runs and wickets felt wrong," Booth added.
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