NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli won India’s cricketer of the year award for the fifth time on Thursday for outstanding performances over the past two seasons.

Kohli became India’s captain in 2015 and led his team back to number one place in the Test rankings the following year. Kohli, who was also named International Cricket Council player of the year in January, amassed 1,332 runs in 13 Tests in 2016-2017.

He also averaged 84.22 for his 1,516 runs in 27 ODIs.

In six Tests in 2017-18, the star batsman has scored 896 runs at an average of 89.6.

Kohli will receive the prestigious Polly Umrigar award, named after a former India captain, and a $45,000 prize at a BCCI function in Bangalore on June 12.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2018