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ICC Awards Winners 2015–2024: Complete 10-Year List of Cricket’s Biggest Individual Honors
Who won the ICC Awards over the last decade? Explore the complete 2015–2024 winners list, including Virat Kohli, Ellyse Perry, Babar Azam, Jasprit Bumrah, Amelia Kerr and other leading stars, with detailed year-by-year tables and major award trends.
The ICC Awards have become cricket’s annual record of individual excellence. Over the past decade, the list of winners has included generational batters, world-class fast bowlers, transformative all-rounders, emerging stars, Associate cricket trailblazers, elite umpires, and moments that captured the spirit of the sport.
Yet comparing one ICC Awards edition with another is not as straightforward as it appears.
The award structure has changed significantly. Women’s cricket received fewer individual categories in the middle of the 2010s. The ICC later expanded its women’s awards, created annual men’s and women’s T20I awards, introduced separate Emerging and Associate honors for women, and retired some older categories.
There is another important complication. There was no conventional ICC Awards 2020 edition. Instead, the International Cricket Council staged the ICC Awards of the Decade, honoring performances across the previous 10 years. The ICC’s annual awards archive therefore moves from 2019 directly to 2021.
For that reason, this guide covers the complete 2015–2024 ten-year period, including nine regular annual ICC Awards editions and the special Awards of the Decade presented in 2020. Readers looking for more international cricket records, analysis, history, and player features can also explore The Sports Encounter’s Cricket coverage.
TL;DR: ICC’s Top Cricketers Across the Decade
| Year | Men’s Top Award | Country | Women’s Top/Leading Award | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Steve Smith | Australia | Meg Lanning, Women’s ODI | Australia |
| 2016 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India | Suzie Bates, Women’s ODI & T20I | New Zealand |
| 2017 | Virat Kohli | India | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| 2018 | Virat Kohli | India | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| 2019 | Ben Stokes | England | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| 2020 | Virat Kohli, Cricketer of the Decade | India | Ellyse Perry, Cricketer of the Decade | Australia |
| 2021 | Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| 2022 | Babar Azam | Pakistan | Nat Sciver | England |
| 2023 | Pat Cummins | Australia | Nat Sciver-Brunt | England |
| 2024 | Jasprit Bumrah | India | Amelia Kerr | New Zealand |
The table shows how dramatically the center of cricketing excellence shifted during the period. Steve Smith began the decade at the top, Virat Kohli dominated its middle years, Pakistan produced consecutive men’s winners through Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam, Pat Cummins followed Australia’s World Cup-winning 2023 with the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, and Jasprit Bumrah became the outstanding men’s international cricketer of 2024.
The trophy itself carries enormous historical weight. The Sports Encounter recently examined that legacy in its tribute to Sir Garfield Sobers and his place among cricket’s greatest all-rounders.
ICC Awards 2015 Winners
Steve Smith owned the 2015 men’s awards. The Australian batter won both the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as ICC Cricketer of the Year and the Test Cricketer of the Year award.
AB de Villiers was recognized as the leading ODI player, while Australia’s Meg Lanning took the Women’s ODI award and West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor won the Women’s T20I honor.
Complete ICC Awards 2015 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Cricketer of the Year | Steve Smith | Australia |
| ICC Test Cricketer of the Year | Steve Smith | Australia |
| ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year | AB de Villiers | South Africa |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Meg Lanning | Australia |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Stafanie Taylor | West Indies |
| ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Josh Hazlewood | Australia |
| ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year | Khurram Khan | United Arab Emirates |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Richard Kettleborough | England |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand |
| ICC T20I Performance of the Year | Faf du Plessis | South Africa |
Du Plessis won the T20I performance award for his 119 from 56 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg, while McCullum’s leadership and sportsmanship during New Zealand’s emotionally charged 2015 World Cup campaign earned him the Spirit of Cricket Award.
ICC Awards 2016 Winners
Ravichandran Ashwin became the central figure of the 2016 ICC Awards. The Indian off-spinner won both the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and Test Cricketer of the Year award. The ICC later formally presented him with both honors, completing one of the finest award years by a spin bowler in the modern era.
New Zealand’s Suzie Bates produced a rare double in women’s cricket, becoming the first player to win both the ICC Women’s ODI and Women’s T20I awards in the same edition.
Complete ICC Awards 2016 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Cricketer of the Year | Ravichandran Ashwin | India |
| ICC Test Cricketer of the Year | Ravichandran Ashwin | India |
| ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year | Quinton de Kock | South Africa |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Suzie Bates | New Zealand |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Suzie Bates | New Zealand |
| ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh |
| ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year | Mohammad Shahzad | Afghanistan |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Marais Erasmus | South Africa |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan |
| ICC T20I Performance of the Year | Carlos Brathwaite | West Indies |
Brathwaite’s award came from one of the most famous finishes in T20 history. His unbeaten 34 from only 10 balls in the 2016 Men’s T20 World Cup final included four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes that carried West Indies past England in Kolkata.
Misbah-ul-Haq, meanwhile, received the Spirit of Cricket Award, adding another distinction to a career strongly associated with Pakistan’s recovery and leadership during a difficult period for the national side.
ICC Awards 2017 Winners
The 2017 edition marked an important point in the evolution of the awards.
Virat Kohli won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, while Steve Smith took the Test award. Hasan Ali’s breakthrough year brought Pakistan another major honor through the Emerging Cricketer category.
The ICC’s official announcement of the 2017 men’s awards confirmed Kohli’s first Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, alongside Smith, Hasan Ali, Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal among the leading winners.
More significantly for the women’s game, Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry became the first recipient of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. The ICC described Perry as the inaugural winner of the newly named honor.
Complete ICC Awards 2017 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Steve Smith | Australia |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Amy Satterthwaite | New Zealand |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Beth Mooney | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Hasan Ali | Pakistan |
| ICC Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year | Beth Mooney | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Marais Erasmus | South Africa |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Anya Shrubsole | England |
| ICC Men’s T20I Performance of the Year | Yuzvendra Chahal | India |
| ICC Fans’ Moment of the Year | Pakistan defeating India in the Champions Trophy final | Pakistan |
Beth Mooney was one of the edition’s biggest winners, taking both the Women’s T20I and Women’s Emerging Player awards. Rashid Khan’s Associate award also foreshadowed his rise into one of the defining limited-overs bowlers of his generation. His continuing importance to Afghanistan can be seen in The Sports Encounter’s recent coverage of Rashid Khan leading Afghanistan toward the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Pakistan’s victory over India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final was selected as the inaugural ICC Fans’ Moment of the Year.
ICC Awards 2018 Winners
If one edition belonged overwhelmingly to one player, it was 2018.
Virat Kohli completed an extraordinary sweep of the principal men’s honors, winning ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Smriti Mandhana led the women’s awards, taking both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Women’s ODI award.
Complete ICC Awards 2018 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Alyssa Healy | Australia |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Rishabh Pant | India |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Sophie Ecclestone | England |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Calum MacLeod | Scotland |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Kumar Dharmasena | Sri Lanka |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Kane Williamson | New Zealand |
| ICC Men’s T20I Performance of the Year | Aaron Finch | Australia |
| ICC Fans’ Moment of the Year | India winning the Under-19 World Cup | India |
Kohli’s three-award sweep made 2018 one of the strongest individual ICC Awards performances of the modern era. Mandhana’s double further turned the edition into a remarkable year for Indian cricket.
ICC Awards 2019 Winners
England’s unforgettable 2019 season placed Ben Stokes at the top of world cricket.
His influence on England’s first Men’s ODI World Cup victory and his extraordinary unbeaten 135 against Australia at Headingley during the Ashes helped him win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.
Ellyse Perry dominated the women’s awards, taking both Women’s Cricketer of the Year and Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Complete ICC Awards 2019 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Ben Stokes | England |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Pat Cummins | Australia |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Rohit Sharma | India |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Alyssa Healy | Australia |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Marnus Labuschagne | Australia |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Chanida Sutthiruang | Thailand |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Kyle Coetzer | Scotland |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Richard Illingworth | England |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Men’s T20I Performance of the Year | Deepak Chahar | India |
Deepak Chahar won the T20I Performance award after taking 6 for 7 against Bangladesh, while Kohli’s decision to ask Indian supporters to stop booing Australia’s Steve Smith during the World Cup earned him the Spirit of Cricket Award.
Marnus Labuschagne’s Emerging Player award followed a remarkable breakthrough in Test cricket. He scored 1,104 Test runs during the year and rose rapidly through the batting rankings.
ICC Awards 2020: Awards of the Decade
The ICC did something completely different in 2020.
Rather than stage a conventional annual awards program, it celebrated the best international performers of the previous decade. More than 1.5 million fans participated in voting, casting 5.3 million votes.
Virat Kohli claimed the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for Male Cricketer of the Decade, while Ellyse Perry dominated the women’s honors.
ICC Awards of the Decade Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Award, ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade | Virat Kohli | India |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award, ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade | Steve Smith | Australia |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade | Ellyse Perry | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade | Kyle Coetzer | Scotland |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade | Kathryn Bryce | Scotland |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade | MS Dhoni | India |
Kohli’s overall award reflected 20,396 international runs during the performance period, more than any other player considered by the ICC. Smith’s 7,040 Test runs at an average of 65.79 secured the Test award.
Perry’s achievement was even broader. She won Female Cricketer of the Decade, Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade.
Rashid Khan’s 89 T20I wickets from 48 matches at an average of 12.62 helped him take the men’s T20I honor despite his international career beginning only in 2015.
MS Dhoni won the Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for recalling England’s Ian Bell after a controversial run-out at Trent Bridge in 2011.
ICC Awards 2021 Winners
When the normal annual awards returned, Pakistan produced one of its greatest years in ICC Awards history.
Shaheen Shah Afridi won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as Men’s Cricketer of the Year, while Babar Azam took the ODI award and Mohammad Rizwan won the Men’s T20I honor.
Smriti Mandhana was named Women’s Cricketer of the Year.
Complete ICC Awards 2021 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Joe Root | England |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Babar Azam | Pakistan |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Lizelle Lee | South Africa |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Tammy Beaumont | England |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Janneman Malan | South Africa |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Fatima Sana | Pakistan |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Zeeshan Maqsood | Oman |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Andrea-Mae Zepeda | Austria |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Marais Erasmus | South Africa |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Daryl Mitchell | New Zealand |
Pakistan therefore won four individual player categories in the same edition: Afridi, Babar, Rizwan and Fatima Sana.
The Test award went to Joe Root, whose ability to remain among the world’s elite deep into his career has continued. The Sports Encounter recently examined Root’s return to No. 1 in the ICC Test batting rankings and what his sustained excellence means for his historical standing.
The 2021 edition also marked the arrival of the annual Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award, replacing the older single-performance approach used during the previous era.
ICC Awards 2022 Winners
Pakistan stayed at the center of the men’s awards in 2022.
Babar Azam succeeded Shaheen Afridi as Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy winner and retained the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award. His broader career and place within Pakistan’s batting history have also been explored in The Sports Encounter’s in-depth Babar Azam career tribute and legacy analysis.
England’s Nat Sciver won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Women’s ODI award.
Complete ICC Awards 2022 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Babar Azam | Pakistan |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Nat Sciver | England |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Ben Stokes | England |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Babar Azam | Pakistan |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Nat Sciver | England |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Suryakumar Yadav | India |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Tahlia McGrath | Australia |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Marco Jansen | South Africa |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Renuka Singh | India |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Gerhard Erasmus | Namibia |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Esha Oza | United Arab Emirates |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Richard Illingworth | England |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Aasif Sheikh | Nepal |
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I award followed an extraordinary 1,164-run year, while Ben Stokes’ transformation of England’s Test team helped earn him the Test Cricketer of the Year honor.
Associate cricket also gained greater visibility. Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus and UAE’s Esha Oza won the men’s and women’s Associate awards respectively.
ICC Awards 2023 Winners
Few players entered 2023 carrying more responsibility than Pat Cummins.
He captained Australia to the World Test Championship title and the Men’s Cricket World Cup while also delivering with the ball and in several crucial situations. The ICC rewarded that year by naming him Men’s Cricketer of the Year.
Nat Sciver-Brunt retained the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, giving her consecutive Women’s Cricketer of the Year awards.
Complete ICC Awards 2023 Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Pat Cummins | Australia |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Nat Sciver-Brunt | England |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Usman Khawaja | Australia |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Virat Kohli | India |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Suryakumar Yadav | India |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Hayley Matthews | West Indies |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Phoebe Litchfield | Australia |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Bas de Leede | Netherlands |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Queentor Abel | Kenya |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Richard Illingworth | England |
| ICC Spirit of Cricket Award | Zimbabwe Cricket | Zimbabwe |
Kohli’s outstanding ODI year brought him another ICC ODI award after 1,377 runs during the performance period. Suryakumar Yadav retained his T20I title after scoring 733 runs, while Rachin Ravindra’s breakthrough World Cup campaign contributed to his Emerging Men’s award.
The women’s awards were notably global. Sciver-Brunt represented England, Athapaththu Sri Lanka, Matthews West Indies, Litchfield Australia and Queentor Abel Kenya.
The continued importance of ODI cricket also provides useful context for these awards. The Sports Encounter is currently revisiting the format’s history through A Celebration of 5000 ODIs, a series examining the matches and performances that shaped the format.
ICC Awards 2024 Winners
The latest completed ICC Awards edition belonged largely to two players.
Jasprit Bumrah won both the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year, while New Zealand all-rounder Amelia “Melie” Kerr won both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year.
Kerr became the first New Zealander to win the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy after playing a central role in New Zealand’s first Women’s T20 World Cup title.
The official ICC Awards 2024 results provide the governing body’s complete record of the edition, including Bumrah, Kerr, Azmatullah Omarzai, Smriti Mandhana, Arshdeep Singh, Kamindu Mendis, Annerie Dercksen, Gerhard Erasmus, Esha Oza and Richard Illingworth.
Complete ICC Awards 2024 Individual Winners
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Jasprit Bumrah | India |
| Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Amelia Kerr | New Zealand |
| ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year | Jasprit Bumrah | India |
| ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Azmatullah Omarzai | Afghanistan |
| ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year | Smriti Mandhana | India |
| ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Arshdeep Singh | India |
| ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year | Amelia Kerr | New Zealand |
| ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year | Kamindu Mendis | Sri Lanka |
| ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year | Annerie Dercksen | South Africa |
| ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Gerhard Erasmus | Namibia |
| ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year | Esha Oza | United Arab Emirates |
| ICC Umpire of the Year | Richard Illingworth | England |
The ICC handed out 12 individual awards in the 2024 edition alongside five Teams of the Year. Unlike several previous editions, there was no separate Spirit of Cricket winner in the ICC’s official 2024 winners list.
Bumrah finished 2024 with 65 Test wickets and also played a decisive role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph. Arshdeep Singh won the T20I award after taking 36 wickets in 18 T20 internationals during the year.
Bumrah’s rise also illustrates how dramatically India’s fast-bowling tradition has developed. That evolution is explored in The Sports Encounter’s feature on Kapil Dev’s legacy and his role in establishing India’s pace-bowling standard.
Who Dominated the ICC Awards From 2015 to 2024?
The tables reveal several broader patterns that disappear when each year’s awards are viewed separately.
Virat Kohli Defined the Middle of the Decade
Kohli’s award record during this period is exceptional.
He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in 2017 and 2018, swept the men’s overall, Test and ODI awards in 2018, received the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award, and was then named both ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade and Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade in 2020.
He returned to the individual winners’ list by taking the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award for 2023.
Kohli’s importance also stretches far beyond annual awards. His place within the evolution of modern white-ball cricket remains visible across historical ODI and T20 records, including The Sports Encounter’s examination of the leading run-scorers in T20 cricket history.
Ellyse Perry Built One of the Greatest Women’s Award Records
Perry won the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2017 and reclaimed Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2019.
Her 2020 Awards of the Decade performance went further. Perry took the overall women’s award plus both the ODI and T20I awards, producing a clean sweep of the three major women’s player categories.
Pakistan Enjoyed a Historic 2021–2022 Run
Shaheen Shah Afridi became Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2021. Babar Azam won the same prize in 2022.
During the 2021 awards alone, Pakistan also supplied the Men’s ODI winner Babar Azam, Men’s T20I winner Mohammad Rizwan and Emerging Women’s winner Fatima Sana.
Babar then retained the ODI award in 2022 while becoming the overall men’s winner.
Fast Bowlers Broke Through at the Very Top
The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy has often favored players whose batting gives them opportunities to influence more matches, but the recent period produced a remarkable fast-bowling sequence.
Shaheen Shah Afridi won in 2021, while Jasprit Bumrah took the award in 2024.
Pat Cummins, another elite fast bowler, won the 2023 award, although his case also included an extraordinary year as Australia’s captain.
That means three of the four Men’s Cricketer of the Year winners from 2021 through 2024 were frontline fast bowlers, with Babar Azam in 2022 the only specialist batter to interrupt the sequence.
The growing recognition of fast bowling fits a wider historical debate about how the role has changed across generations, something The Sports Encounter has also explored through its analysis of Pakistan’s fast-bowling heritage and why it still carries such cultural power.
How the ICC Awards Changed Over the Decade
The award tables also document cricket’s structural evolution.
In 2015 and 2016, women’s recognition centered primarily on separate ODI and T20I awards. The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the overall Women’s Cricketer of the Year was introduced in 2017, with Ellyse Perry becoming its first winner.
A Women’s Emerging Player award also appeared in 2017, with Beth Mooney its first winner.
The men’s T20I category evolved differently. For years, the ICC recognized one outstanding T20I Performance of the Year, producing winners such as Faf du Plessis, Carlos Brathwaite, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aaron Finch and Deepak Chahar.
The modern annual Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award replaced that approach from 2021.
Separate women’s Associate recognition later became part of the regular awards structure as well, expanding the ICC’s ability to recognize performances beyond its Full Member nations.
Which Players Won the Most Prestigious ICC Award During the Period?
Looking only at the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the leading men’s cricketer, the winners across the period were:
| Award Year | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Steve Smith | Australia |
| 2016 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India |
| 2017 | Virat Kohli | India |
| 2018 | Virat Kohli | India |
| 2019 | Ben Stokes | England |
| 2020 | Virat Kohli, Cricketer of the Decade | India |
| 2021 | Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan |
| 2022 | Babar Azam | Pakistan |
| 2023 | Pat Cummins | Australia |
| 2024 | Jasprit Bumrah | India |
Kohli is the only player in this period to win consecutive regular Sir Garfield Sobers Trophies, doing so in 2017 and 2018. His Cricketer of the Decade honor in 2020 strengthens his position as the defining individual men’s ICC Awards performer of this ten-year window.
Which Women Dominated the ICC Awards?
The women’s awards show a more distributed pattern.
Ellyse Perry stands out because of her overall titles in 2017 and 2019 and her three Awards of the Decade victories in 2020.
Smriti Mandhana won the overall women’s award in 2018 and 2021, then added the Women’s ODI title in 2024.
Nat Sciver-Brunt won consecutive Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophies in 2022 and 2023. Amelia Kerr followed with the 2024 award.
That sequence captures the remarkable depth of women’s international cricket during the period, from Australia’s dominance through Perry and Alyssa Healy to the rise of Mandhana, Sciver-Brunt, Kerr, Chamari Athapaththu, Hayley Matthews and other stars from across the international game.
Why There Is No Standard ICC Awards 2020 Winners List
This is one of the biggest sources of confusion when searching ICC Awards history.
The ICC’s official annual archive contains 2019 and then jumps to 2021. Rather than presenting regular awards for the 2020 calendar year, the governing body announced the ICC Awards of the Decade on December 28, 2020.
Any historical list that simply inserts regular 2020 annual winners alongside 2019 and 2021 therefore creates a false impression.
The correct approach is to identify 2020 as an exceptional year and list the decade awards separately.
What the Last Decade of ICC Awards Tells Us About World Cricket
Awards are imperfect measures of greatness. They depend on performance windows, formats played, competition, voting systems and the categories available in a particular year.
Taken together, though, these ten years tell a compelling story.
Smith opened the period as Test cricket’s dominant batter. Ashwin followed with an all-round year built around spin and lower-order runs. Kohli then produced one of the strongest sustained stretches of all-format batting in the modern game.
Stokes’ 2019 victory showed how decisive performances in cricket’s biggest moments could outweigh simple statistical accumulation. Afridi and Bumrah demonstrated that elite fast bowling could still command cricket’s highest individual prize. Babar represented Pakistan’s batting resurgence, while Cummins combined world-class bowling with championship-winning leadership.
Women’s cricket experienced an even more visible transformation. Lanning and Bates were recognized within a narrower award structure early in the period. Perry then became the first Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy winner before Mandhana, Sciver-Brunt and Kerr carried the honor into a new generation.
The Associate awards tell another part of the same story. Winners came from the UAE, Afghanistan, Scotland, Oman, Austria, Namibia and Kenya, showing how far international cricket’s individual recognition has expanded beyond its traditional powers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the most ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year awards from 2015 to 2024?
Virat Kohli was the only player to win the regular Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy twice during this period, taking the award in 2017 and 2018. He was also named ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade in 2020.
Who won the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award in 2024?
India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for 2024. He also won the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award.
Who won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award in 2024?
New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr, also known as Melie Kerr, won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. She also won the Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award.
Who won the ICC Awards in 2020?
There was no conventional annual ICC Awards 2020 program. The ICC instead presented the Awards of the Decade. Virat Kohli won Male Cricketer of the Decade and Ellyse Perry won Female Cricketer of the Decade.
Which player dominated the ICC Awards of the Decade?
Ellyse Perry won three major awards: Female Cricketer of the Decade, Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade. Virat Kohli won Male Cricketer of the Decade and Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade.
Which Pakistan players won major ICC Awards during this period?
Among Pakistan’s notable winners were Misbah-ul-Haq, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fatima Sana. Afridi won Men’s Cricketer of the Year in 2021, while Babar succeeded him in 2022.
Has an Afghanistan player won an ICC annual award?
Yes. Rashid Khan won the Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year award for 2017 and later became ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade in 2020. Azmatullah Omarzai won the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award for 2024.
Final Word
The ICC Awards from 2015 through 2024 record a decade in which Virat Kohli built an extraordinary all-format legacy, Ellyse Perry established herself among women’s cricket’s defining players, Pakistan produced consecutive winners of cricket’s leading men’s award, Associate nations gained greater recognition, and fast bowlers returned to the very top of the individual honors.
They also show how international cricket itself changed.
Women’s categories became broader. T20I cricket developed from rewarding isolated performances to recognizing complete seasons. Associate cricket gained dedicated men’s and women’s honors. The sport’s biggest individual awards gradually became a much wider reflection of the international game.
At the end of the latest completed edition, two very different cricketers stood at the summit: Jasprit Bumrah, a fast bowler whose precision and control defined India’s 2024, and Amelia Kerr, an all-rounder at the heart of New Zealand’s historic women’s T20 World Cup triumph.