The Indian cricket team over the years and its many successful campaigns in ICC tournaments has seen many players come as the heroes of the side, who carried the team through to wins in scenarios where even a close content looked to be out of the equation, let alone an Indian win. So, here’s a look at the names of the Indian players who won the Man of the Series award in an ICC tournament.
Yuvraj Singh – 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup
2011 was a dream year for Yuvraj Singh and the Indian Cricket Team. Playing in the all-important tournament at home, the expectations were running high be it from the Indian fans or the experts. And deliver for the team in the hour of need Yuvraj Singh did.
The left-handed all-rounder, in the 9 matches that he played in, contributed both with the bat and the ball in hand, scoring as many as 362 runs and taking 15 wickets, also setting, and breaking many records in the process. It included some of the most crucial knocks in India’s run in the tournament, including the one in the Quarter Finals against Australia, where, if it wasn’t for him, India would not have made it through.
These performances of his not only won India the World Cup but also got him the Man of the Series award in the tournament, thus earning him a place in this list of Indian players who have won the Man of the Series award in an ICC tournament.
Virat Kohli – 2014 and 2016 ICC World T20
The current captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli who has established himself as a batting powerhouse in the world of modern-day cricket, earned the title of being the Man of the Series in two consecutive ICC tournaments i.e., in 2014 and 2016 ICC World T20, becoming the first Indian to do so ever.
Virat in the 2014 edition of the tournament, ended up being the top scorer and topped it with another second-place finish in the leader board in the following edition. In ICC World T20 2014, he played in 6 matches and scored as many 319 runs at an average of 106.33. These figures of his could not be even matched, let alone surpassed in that edition.
Come 2016, Virat was ready with another spell of battering the bowlers who came at him. Falling behind the top scorer of that edition, Tamim Iqbal, Virat played in matches and got to his name, 273 runs in total. Though India was not able to finish at the top spot in both these tournaments, Virat was duly rewarded for his contributions and got himself the two Man of the Series Awards.
Shikhar Dhawan – 2013 ICC Champions Trophy
The star of India’s campaigns in ICC tournaments in England in recent years, Shikhar Dhawan, makes it into this list of Indian players with a Man of the Series award to their name in ICC tournaments, thanks to his staggering performance with the bat in hand during India’s successful campaign in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Shikhar in that particular edition of the Champions Trophy looked to be in another level of form. He was the top run-getter in the list of the batsmen by a long shot, having played in just 5 matches and scoring 363 runs in total, and maintaining an average, as high as 90.75, and a strike rate of 101.40, including 2 hundreds.
It was Shikhar’s consistent contributions in the tournament that got India through many tough scenarios, where they may not have gotten through if it was not for Gabbar’s heroics. India won the tournament with ease and Dhawan was crowned to be the Man of the Series in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Sachin Tendulkar – 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup
The ‘Master Blaster’ as he is called by the fans and experts of the game, Sachin Tendulkar was the Man of the Series in the 2003 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, by the virtue of being the highest run getter of the game and his impact on India’s run in the tournament.
Indian team going into the team had its batting order revolving around Sachin, where he was the fulcrum around which the entire batting line-up revolved. And, fulfilling this duty of his, Sachin made sure that his team had enough runs on the board when he was out there batting.
He had played in 11 matches in that tournament, where he managed to score as many as 673 runs in total, at an average of 61.18, including the 1 century he scored. Though India managed to get to the finals, losing the all-important game, some of Sachin’s performances remain embedded in the minds of the people who witnessed that spectacle.
