Indian men's cricket team wins Sportstar Aces 2020 Team of the Year

Indian men’s cricket team took home the Team of the Year award, beating Bengaluru Football Club, the Indian women’s hockey team and Pro Kabaddi’s Bengal Warriors to the award.

India won 11 of the 14 series across formats while also reaching the semifinals of the 50-over World Cup.

India’s Test cricket team has been on an all-time high. With Virat Kohli leading from the front, the side managed to clinch a historic maiden Test series win in Australia in 2019, after drawing the first Test in Sydney.

It maintained its dream run later in the year, with series wins against the West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh. And in the process, the side managed to notch up its 12th consecutive Test series win at home — the longest streak in the history of the game.

So, it was not really a surprise when the Indian Test cricket team bagged the Team of the Year award.

At a star-studded event, the team’s batting coach, Vikram Rathour, collected the award from one of India’s legendary cricketers — Bishan Singh Bedi. And the two were joined by Sourav Ganguly — former India captain, who now heads the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“It’s great to be recognised. As a team, we have been extremely consistent last year. Looking forward to having a better 2020, boys are working hard, they are extremely motivated. Some important tours and important tournaments are coming up, it’s time to win a big one,” said Rathour.

Even though he joined the team only in September, Rathour admits the series win against Australia did set the tone for the entire year. “Of course. Once you have an achievement like that, it definitely motivates you to do better,” he said. “The win against Australia in Australia was a huge moment for Indian cricket.”

With more challenges coming up in the new year, even Ganguly believes there is a lot to achieve. And he was also happy to see the team clinch the Sportstar Aces award. “It’s a great award. I was one of the Sportstar ’s Sportsperson of the Year in 2000. It’s been remarkable,” Ganguly said. “This is what you play for. Indian sports has got better and better…”

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, chess ace Vishwanathan Anand, The Hindu Publishing Group chairman N. Ram, former India hockey captain M. M. Somaya, Olympian shooter Anjali Bhagwat and Olympian shuttler Aparna Popat selected the deserving winners in categories involving young athletes, teams, coaches and parathletes.

The awards look to create a medium of knowledge and vision exchange as it brings all stakeholders of Indian sports under one roof.