Dubai: India’s all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin arrived in Dubai after becoming the third Indian player and 12th player overall to win the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy — and also named ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016. He was also adjudged the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year, making him only the second India player after Rahul Dravid in 2004 to bag the two coveted prizes in the same year.
Ashwin, who is here to conduct a coaching clinic for Dubai-based East Sports Management (ESM) Cricket Academy at the Gems Wellington Academy, thus joins India’s legendary batsmen Dravid, cricketer of the year in 2004, and Sachin Tendulkar, who won it in 2010.
He also joins the elite group of recipients of the Sir Garfield Trophy such as Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis (joint-winners in 2005), Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Mitchell Johnson (2009 and 2014), Jonathan Trott (2011), Kumar Sangakkara (2012), Michael Clarke (2013) and Steve Smith (2015).
Commenting on winning this prestigious trophy, Ashwin said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to be awarded with this great honour. It feels great to follow the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in being named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year. To also win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year makes it even better.”
The voting period for the experts of the game to judge the best player began from September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016, during which period he played eight Test matches and took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs. He also bagged 27 wickets from his 19 T20 International matches.
Kallis (2005), Ponting (2006), Sangakkara (2012), Clarke (2013), Johnson (2014) and Smith (2015) are the only players to annex both the awards in the same year.
Ashwin has lifted his game over the last few years, sharpening not only his bowling but also his batting skills. He finished 2015 as the number-one ranked Test bowler in the world, a position he twice reclaimed in 2016.
Speaking about his consistent form, Ashwin said: “It has been a great couple of years but this year has been even more special. What is very noticeable is the way I have bowled and batted and the way I have gone about doing my business. What is more important, as far as I am concerned, is the number of people who have gone behind my success.”
Ashwin, dedicating the award to his family, added: “There are a lot of people to thank for this wonderful achievement I have made. I’d like to dedicate this award to my family. I’d like to thank ICC and most importantly my teammates. I’d also like to thank the support staff for our success. We’ve had a great transition ever since Mahendra Singh Dhoni hung up his boots. A young captain has taken over, we fell on the right track, and we now have a new bunch of boys.”
Ashwin becomes the first top-ranked player to conduct a clinic in Dubai.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “It has been a memorable period for Ashwin, whose consistent all-round and match winning performances have been reflected in the MRF player rankings. He is justifiably now being counted among the best spinners of his generation. To win both the ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year awards is a major accomplishment.”
R Ashwin international career (compiled by Mohan Menon)
Format Mts Inns NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct
Tests 44 62 10 1816 124 34.92 55.08 4 10 18
ODIs 102 58 18 658 65 16.45 86.57 0 1 30
T20Is 45 10 6 112 31* 28 103.7 0 0 8
Format Mts Balls Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 5w 10m
Tests 44 12732 6191 248 7\59 24.96 2.91 51.3 24 7
ODIs 102 5571 4507 142 4\25 31.73 4.85 39.2 0 0
T20Is 45 1002 1154 52 4\8 22.19 6.91 19.2 0 0
Leading wicket-taker in 2016 in Tests
Bowler Mts Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 5w 10m
R Ashwin (INDIA) 12 584.4 102 1721 72 7\59 23.9 2.94 48.7 8 3
HMRKB Herath (SL) 8 367.3 84 947 54 8\63 17.53 2.57 40.8 5 2
SCJ Broad (ENG) 14 463.4 117 1275 48 6\17 26.56 2.74 57.9 1 0
MA Starc (AUS) 7 279.2 61 968 45 6\50 21.51 3.46 37.2 3 1
RA Jadeja (INDIA) 9 463.4 116 1056 43 7\48 24.55 2.27 64.6 2 1
Yasir Shah (PAK) 9 497.2 80 1573 43 6\72 36.58 3.16 69.3 4 2
