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'King in a league of his own' - Fans hail batting maestro Virat Kohli for winning ODI Player of the Year award for record 4th time

Kohli was at his best in the ODI World Cup in which India finished as runners-up after a remarkable campaign till the final.

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Mathew K
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Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Batting stalwart Virat Kohli bagged yet another major international individual award. For his sensational performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Kohli won the Cricket Governing Body's ODI Player of the Year award. The right-handed batter pipped his teammates Shubman Gill and Mohammed Shami to claim the honour for the record fourth time. 

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The 35-year-old, who previously won the award in 2012, 2017 and 2018, became the first-ever cricketer to win the prestigious award four times. He surpassed legendary South African AB de Villiers' tally of three awards. Notably, Kohli was among the four players shortlisted for the Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year 2023 Award, but World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins won the title. 

This feat is a testament to Kohli's status as one of the greatest cricketers of all time. He had gone through the worst phase of his career for nearly three years, but came back in style with a maiden T20I century in the 2022 Asia Cup. Since then he has scored runs and centuries for fun in all formats of the game and is back as the backbone of the Indian batting unit.

Kohli was at his best in the ODI World Cup in which India finished as runners-up after a remarkable campaign till the final. The No. 3 batter smashed a total of 765 runs - most runs in one edition of the World Cup, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record. His impressive outings included three centuries and six half-centuries in 11 matches.

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Notably, he also surpassed Tendulkar's historical record for the most ODI hundred during the World Cup. With a century in the semi-final match against New Zealand, Kohli became the first batter in history to score 50 centuries in a single format. He was also awarded Player of the Tournament despite India's heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final. 

Here's how fans reacted to Virat Kohli winning ODI Player of the Year honour: 

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