The Wisden Almanack named Virat Kohli as the Leading Cricketer of the Year for 2018 on Wednesday (April 10). The Indian captain also was picked as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the year, along with Tammy Beaumont, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Rory Burns. Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana bagged the Women’s Leading Cricketer of the Year.
Kohli, who was picked as the Leading Cricketer of the Year for the third time in a row, composed 2735 runs across the three formats in 2018. He was in prime form during the tour of England, where he notched up 593 runs over five Tests at an average of 59.3. He ended the year with five Test hundreds to his name. Don Bradman (10 times) and Jack Hobbs (8 times) are the only two cricketers who have bagged the award on more than three occasions.
Mandhana, who won the Leading Women’s Cricketer of the Year, scored 669 and 662 runs in ODIs and T20Is during the course of 2018. She was also in stellar form in the Women’s Super League, compiling 421 runs at an astounding strike rate of 174.68.
Rashid Khan bagged the Leading T20 Cricketer of the Year. The Afghanistan spinner plucked 21 scalps in the Indian Premier League 2018. He was also in superb form in T20Is, finishing with 22 wickets at an average of 8.68 for Afghanistan last year.
