GUWAHATI: Indian captain Virat Kohli won the ICC's Spirit of Cricket Award for asking the cricket fans to applaud Australia's Steve Smith.
Kohli won the award for his gesture at the 2019 World Cup, when he egged the crowd on to support and not boo Steve Smith soon after his return to international cricket from a one-year suspension for ball-tampering.
"I'm surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things," Kohli said in a statement issued by the ICC.
Meanwhile India's star opener Rohit Sharma was named the ICC's Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019, for his incredible run of form through the year.
It is to be mentioned that Rohit had a memorable 2019 when he scored 10 hundreds across formats, including five in the ICC ODI World Cup.