Virat Kohli wins the Pubity Male Athlete of the Year Award 2024
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Lionel Messi Loses against Virat Kohli
On Sunday, December 31, Team India’s talisman, batting star Virat Kohli, defeated Argentine football legend Lionel Messi to win the Pubity Male Athlete of the Year 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 many 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 had competition from Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Lebron James, and Max Verstappen. The winner was decided between Messi and Kohli, with the latter taking home the trophy.
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Messi earned 28% of the vote, while the batter for Team India received 78%. Despite winning Times Athlete of the Year, the football player from Argentina fell well short of Virat Kohli in terms of winning Pubity Male Athlete of the Year.
After helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi didn’t put on a very outstanding display, therefore his 2023 was mediocre. The 35-year-old made headlines this year when leaving Paris Saint-Germain for the Inter Miami team, which is owned by David Beckham. He led his side to 11 goals in 10 games for the club, however the Major Soccer League 2022–2023 season ended without him leading his team to the playoffs.
After 11 matches and 765 runs at an average of 95.62, Virat Kohli became the World Cup’s best run scorer. It was an incredible performance. But after losing to Australia in the championship match, his amazing career came to a heartbreaking end as India was unable to claim the prized title.
The talisman batsman had an amazing IPL 2023, finishing as the fourth-highest run scorer with 639 runs at an average of 53.25 over 14 matches, including two hundreds and six half-centuries.
In the current two-match Test series against South Africa, Kohli is a member of the Indian team. Attaining 114 runs in two innings, he was the visitor with the highest run total.
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.
READ MORE : Kohli’s indefinite break from ODIs, T20Is : BCCI in the dark
