New Delhi: India’s top off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin won the Garfield Sobers Trophy after being named ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016 on Thursday, December 22.
The World No 1 bowler is also the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year.
‘It is 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,’ Ashwin was quoted saying on the ICC Web site.
‘There are a lot of people to thank for this wonderful achievement I have made. 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.’
‘I’d like to dedicate this award to my family. I’d like to thank the ICC and most importantly my team-mates. 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,’ he added.
Ashwin took 48 wickets in 8 Tests this year at an average of 15.39 and also contributed with the bat by scoring 336 runs, (Average: 42) during the voting period from September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016.
Virat Kohli was the last Indian to win the honour, getting the gong in 2012.
Ashwin was also adjudged the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year, which has made him only the second India player after Dravid (2004) to bag the two coveted prizes in the same year.
Kallis (2005), Ponting (2006), Sangakkara (2012), Clarke (2013), Johnson (2014) and Smith (2015) are the other players to annex both the awards in the same year.
