Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli was awarded the ICC Test Championship Mace on last night at Cape Town. While it is confirmed that Indian team will retain their top spot in the ICC Test Team Rankings till the cut-off date which is 3rd April 2018, so ICC presented the Mace to the Indian captain before the final date. It is the second consecutive year for India to win the ICC Test Championship Mace and both are under Virat Kohli’s leadership who thanked the fans to support the Indian cricket team.
On the last night at Cape Town, Indian legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar and South African legendary batsman Graeme Pollock handed the honourable Mace over the Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
The moment when the Indian skipper received the ICC Test Championship Mace
Watch: @imVkohli was awarded with the ICC Test Championship Mace last night in Cape Town, with India confirmed to be retaining the top spot in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Team Rankings at the April cut-off date! 👏 pic.twitter.com/37FJOgVxsb
— ICC (@ICC) February 25, 2018
Kohli thanked all the fans to support the Indian cricket team. In a video released on ICC’s official Twitter account, Kohli messaged, “Having received the ICC Test mace twice in a row is a very special feeling for all of us in the Indian cricket team and the support staff as well. I want to thank all the fans of the Indian cricket team all around the world for making this possible – for supporting us in big numbers where ever we play and motivating us in the tough times.”
Also read: Indian squad for Nidahas Trophy 2018
Since October 2016, India consistently remains at the top of the ICC Test Ranking till the date. Kohli promised that they will keep the same hard work. Kohli quoted, “We promise you that we will keep the hard work going, we will try to entertain as much as possible and keep Indian cricket as high as we can for as many years as possible.”
Kohli is also hopeful that they will get similar support in the upcoming months where they will play a lot of tough cricket matches at away from home. He said, “It’s been a collective effort of the fans and the team and hopefully in the next coming 12-18 months, where we are going to play a lot of tough cricket away from home, we hope that we can get the same kind of support from all the fans across the world.”
Also read: Moeen Ali fears for the future of Test cricket
At the end of his message, Kohli said, “We are very thankful and grateful to all of you and now we are looking forward to seeing in the stadiums again.”
Here is the full message video:
A message for all India fans from @imVkohli after India retained the ICC Test Championship Mace as the number one Test side! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/vEVNrfcsZB
— ICC (@ICC) February 25, 2018