Johannesburg, June 4 (IANS) South African skipper AB de Villiers has capped off a stunning year by winning five awards, including Player of the Year for the second time in a row, at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) annual awards.
De Villiers was also named One Day-International Cricketer of the Year while his peers and his fans on Wednesday honoured him by voting for him as SA (South Africa) Players’ Player of the Year and SA Fans’ Player of the Year, respectively.
He also received the ‘KFC So Good Award’ for scoring the fastest century in the history of ODI Cricket against the West Indies in January.
“AB is just so special and surely he must be the best all-round cricketer in the world,” CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday.
“His performances are sheer class and his No.2 ranking in Test match cricket and No.1 in ODI cricket only tell a part of his amazing skills. He has always been an entertainer and a trend-setter while at the same time he has that unique ability to dig really deep when it matters,” he said.
De Villiers has modestly taken limited-overs batting to a new level and he has done it with style and panache that is simply beyond the reach of most.
“He is a true batting genius. He now holds the world records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket. We are proud of the scale of his achievements and, more importantly, the manner in which he does it,” concluded Lorgat.
Other notable award winners from the event were Hashim Amla (Test Player of the Year) and Rilee Rossouw (Newcomer of the Year).
