Cricket: Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ellyse Perry take out ICC player of the decade awards

Australia's Steve Smith walks from the field after he was dismissed for a duck against India. Photo / AP

India's Virat Kohli and Australia's Ellyse Perry have taken out the ICC's top awards for male and female players of the decade but it's the men's test award that has raised a few eyebrows.

Former Australian skipper Steve Smith was named as the best player in the longer form of the game - and going by his impressive batting stats it seems the right call.

Although fans on social media have pointed out the ICC seem to have forgotten that Smith was suspended from the game for cheating during Australia's 2018 tour of South Africa.

Smith was suspended from all international and domestic cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia after the Cricket Australia Board found he failed to prevent teammates David Warner and Cameron Bandcroft from tampering with the ball in the third test in Cape Town.

Smith's stats are impressive.

During the period for the ICC award, Smith totalled 7040 test runs at an average of 65.79. Over that time he scored 26 hundreds and 28 fifties.

We fixed it... Congrats mate! pic.twitter.com/GgOeXEcllB

— The ACC (@TheACCnz) December 28, 2020

A blatant endorsement of cheating from cricket's governing body.
Absolutely disgraceful.

— Cory (@SmithyInWelly) December 28, 2020

Kohli won the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade along with the ODI Male Cricketer of the Decade award. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Decade.

Perry cleaned up all the awards in the women's game. The Australian won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade along with the ODI and Twenty20 women's Cricketer of the Decade awards.