Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday received the ICC Shield for finishing as the No 1 ODI team in the Championship table on the April 1, 2013 cut-off date.
In a simple ceremony at the Swalec Stadium here, former ICC president David Morgan presented Dhoni a silver salver and a cheque for $175,000.
The brief ceremony took place a few metres away from where the Indians were training ahead of Tuesday’s warm-up match against Australia in Cardiff.
Cheered by a couple of players and members of the team management, Dhoni looked happy to receive the award from the former ICC boss.
India (119 points) still retain the top spot going into the Champions Trophy starting on June 6. Australia (116) and South Africa (113) are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
It was a “vision only” opportunity for the handful of media, covering India’s practice session on a sunny morning.
Dhoni happily posed for a small group of cameramen. Considering the show that the ICC normally makes for such kinds of awards, this one was rather lacklustre. Dhoni was ‘off-limits’ for the media as the recent happening in Indian cricket only made him difficult to get. A happy Dhoni said: “I am very proud of this huge achievement, as being number-one is a reward for all of us, but hopefully it is just the beginning.”
“Being number-one in the world brings with it a certain respect for the game itself and for the way in which we play the game and conduct ourselves on the field.
“You have to be consistent to be ranked number-one and I think we have reached that level of consistency over a period of time. We have performed very well and I am very proud of what the guys have achieved.
“This one belongs to the team, not me alone,” Dhoni added.