Mumbai: Indian batting star Virat Kohli has overcome Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. Kohli was up against the likes of Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Lebron James, and Max Verstappen for the same.
The former Indian captain received over 5 lakh votes, thereby clinching the award.
As one of the most well-liked sportsmen, Kohli has a sizable global fan base. The former captain of India had an amazing year in both Tests and ODIs, breaking multiple milestones including becoming the first batter to achieve 50 ODI hundreds and setting a global record for the most runs in a single global Cup edition (765).
In the running for the Pubity Male Athlete of the Year Award, Virat Kohli faced competition from Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Lebron James, and Max Verstappen. The winner was decided between Messi and Kohli, with the latter receiving more than five lakh votes.
Messi garnered 28% of the votes, while Team India’s batter received 78%. Even though the football player from Argentina won the Times Athlete of the Year award, he fell far short of Virat Kohli in the Pubity Male Athlete of the Year competition.
Lionel Messi had a mediocre 2023 since he didn’t put on a spectacular display after helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup. The 35-year-old made headlines this year when he signed a contract with the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami team after leaving Paris Saint-Germain. Despite his 11 goals in 10 club games, he was unable to lead his team to the Major Soccer League 2022–2023 playoffs.
Virat Kohli’s 2023 in numbers
In 2023, former India captain Virat Kohli found his game again and produced his best work as a cricket player.
With 2048 runs at an average of 66.06 in 35 matches, Kohli finished as the second-highest run scorer of the year. The 35-year-old broke Kumar Sangakkara’s record for most international runs scored in several calendar years. Sangakkara reached the milestone six times, compared to seven times for Kohli.
Virat Kohli had an amazing World Cup, setting a new record for most runs scored with 765 at an average of 95.62 across 11 games. His amazing career, however, came to an abrupt end as India lost to Australia in the final and was unable to win the prized title.
The talismanic hitter had an outstanding IPL 2023, finishing as the fourth-highest run scorer with 639 runs at an average of 53.25 across 14 matches, including two hundreds and six half-centuries.
Kohli is currently part of India squad in the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa. He scored the most runs for visitors, aggregating 114 runs across two innings.
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