Joe Root and Ravichandran Ashwin win big at 2016 CEAT awards

The CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) awards for the 2015-16 season was announced at a dazzling ceremony in Mumbai which saw the attendance of numerous former and current players. England batsman Joe Root grabbed top honors while the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli were also among the winners.

Dilip Vengsarkar, the backbone of India’s middle-order throughout the 1980s, was conferred with the International Lifetime Achievement Award. Alongside 6868 runs from 116 Tests at an average of 42.13, the upright batsman was also a part of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 1983.

Meanwhile, the 25-year old Root was named both International Cricketer of the Year as well as International Batsman of the Year. The Yorkshire-man edged out Australian opener David Warner in both Tests and ODIs. However, when T20Is were taken into account, the Root was ahead by a huge margin.

In fact, the right-hander was the only batsman to average 40-plus in all the three formats of the sport during the previous season. Deservedly, the International Bowler of the Year went to Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

The Tamil Nadu bowler picked up 57 wickets from 8 matches at an average of 14.38 to go with his 25 scalps from 17 games at an average of 15. Though Ashwin was slightly below par in the shortest format, his astounding performances in both Tests and ODIs was enough to land him the title.

Surprisingly, Kane Williamson was awarded the Test Cricketer of the Year ahead of Aussie skipper Steve Smith who had a monstrous year in cricket’s traditional format. The New Zealander’s adaptability to different conditions across the globe emerged as the clinching factor though Smith and Adam Voges had better averages.

ODI Cricketer of the Year went to Martin Guptill who was the only batsman to complete 1000 runs in the fifty-overs game. Indian batting star Virat Kohli was the unanimous choice for the T20 Player of the Year due to his unprecedented tally of 669 runs from 15 matches at an average of 95.57.

Rohit Sharma was chosen as the Indian Cricketer of the Year while fellow Mumbaikar Shreyas Iyer took home the Domestic Cricketer of the Year trophy. Rishabh Pant was given the Young Player of the Year even as a Special Award went to Ajinkya Rahane.

---

Here is the complete list:

Lifetime Achievement Award – Dilip Vengsarkar

International Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root

International Batsman of the Year – Joe Root

International Bowler of the Year – Ravichandran Ashwin

Test Cricketer of the Year – Kane Williamson

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Martin Guptill

T20 Player of the Year – Virat Kohli

Indian Cricketer of the Year – Rohit Sharma

Domestic Cricketer of the Year – Shreyas Iyer

Young Player of the Year – Rishabh Pant

Special Award – Ajinkya Rahane.