The Indian Premier League has seen many teams play for the coveted trophy over the years since its inception in 2008. The most prestigious award a player can win in the IPL is the “Player of the Series” award, which has been called by many names like “Man of the Tournament” and “Most Valuable Player”. A variety of factors go into deciding who gets this award, some of them are – 4s and 6s hit, Catches, Stumpings, and Run Outs done, Wickets taken and Dot Balls bowled. So, let us have a look at who all have won the Player of the Series award over the years.
1. 2008- Shane Watson
The Australian All-Rounder Shane Watson has been a big name in the Indian Premier League. Playing for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, Watson scored 472 runs at an impressive average and strike rate of 47.20 and 151.76 respectively. Adding to this, he also picked up 17 wickets at a miserly economy of 7.07. He was the first Player of the Series in the history of the IPL.
2. 2009 – Adam Gilchrist
Another Australian to feature on this list, Adam Gilchrist, captained the Deccan Chargers in 2009 and lead them to a successful maiden IPL trophy win. He was the 2nd highest run-scorer of the tournament with 495 runs, hitting 54 fours and 29 sixes at a strike rate of an impressive 152.30. He was effective behind the stumps as well, having affected 10 catches, 5 run-outs, and 8 stumpings.
3. 2010 – Sachin Tendulkar
Captain of the Mumbai Indians, Sachin Tendulkar scored a massive 618 runs, averaging 47.53 to propel his team into the finals of the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League. He had won both Player of the Series and the Orange Cap in the 2010 IPL season. Unfortunately, MI couldn’t win the trophy, but Master Blaster was the stand-out performer in the tournament.
4. 2011 – Chris Gayle
2011 saw the start of the rise of one of the most destructive IPL Superstars in the form of Chris Gayle. Gayle piled on 608 runs at a staggering average of 67.55 and a Strike Rate of 183.13 with his debut season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He also picked up 8 handy wickets and 2 catches. Gayle wasn’t even part of the main squad and came up with this performance after being called in as a replacement.
5. 2012 – Sunil Narine
The Trinidadian cricketer picked up 24 wickets with a very impressive economy and an average of 5.47 and 13.5: something which is never seen in T20 cricket. Due to his exploits, he was named the Player of the Series in his debut season in the IPL. KKR won the title for the first time in that season, and he played an integral role in that.
6. 2013 – Shane Watson
The only Australian to feature on this list twice, Watson’s second Player of The Tournament award came in the 2013 IPL season when he scored 543 runs with an average of 38.7 and strike rate of 142.89. He also picked up 13 wickets with an economy of 7.15, deservingly awarded the player of the tournament in 2013.
7. 2014 – Glenn Maxwell
Playing for the then called Kings XI Punjab, 2014 was Maxwell’s breakthrough season as he took the Kings into the finals against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 552 runs striking it at 187.75 giving his team quick and big scores whenever needed of him. He wasn’t able to replicate such a season until last year when he had a great season for RCB. All eyes will be on Maxwell this year as he takes the field for RCB.
8. 2015 – Andre Russell
Andre Russell is a player who can win such awards. 326 Runs at an explosive strike rate of 192.89 and 14 wickets, that’s what earned the hard-hitting West Indian All-Rounder Andre Russell the Player of the Tournament in the 2015 Edition of the Indian Premier League. He also did his roles well in the field as he took 6 catches that season.
9. 2016 – Virat Kohli
2016 was the year of Virat Kohli. Whatever he touched turned to gold, except his team winning the IPL Trophy. Kohli had incredible numbers which players can only dream of as he piled up 973 runs averaging 81.08 and striking the ball at 152.03. At one point it looked like he might score 1000 runs in an IPL season which is ridiculous. He broke many records this season out of which some are: most runs in a single edition of the IPL and most centuries in a season of the IPL scoring 4 tons.
10. 2017 – Ben Stokes
The only English player to feature on this list, Stokes is another player who has won the Player Of The Series award in his debut IPL season. Stokes played for the Rising Pune Supergiants and was a vital cog in their setup. He picked 12 wickets at an economy of 7.18 and also scored 316 runs with a strike rate of 142,98, his best score being 103*. Unfortunately, his team didn’t go through to win the IPL as they lost to the Mumbai Indians in the final of 2017 IPL.
11. 2018 – Sunil Narine
The second player to win the Player Of The Tournament twice, Narine switched to the opening spin bowling all-rounder which was required of him and it worked out quite effectively. He scored 317 runs with a strike rate of 189.89 and also picked 17 wickets with an economy of 7.65. Narine who was a top bowler suddenly became a world-class all-rounder in the shortest format.
12. 2019 – Andre Russell
The final player to win the Player Of The Tournament twice, Russell unleashed carnage in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League. He scored 510 runs striking it at a blistering 204.81. In addition to that, Russell picked up 11 wickets and 4 catches to win the Player of the Tournament award. He played some absolutely breath-taking innings and deserved the award.
13. 2020 – Jofra Archer
Bowling at a scorching pace above the 145 mark consistently, Archer was a terror to the batsmen in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League held in the UAE. He took 20 wickets with an economy of 6.55 and was equally effective in the Powerplay and death overs. In addition to this. He was a very handy lower-order batsman who played quick cameos to boost his teams’ score by 15 to 20 runs. He deservingly won the Player Of The Tournament in 2020 for his exploits with the ball and bat. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available for the 2021 IPL season and won’t be available for this season as well.
14. 2021 – Harshal Patel
Harshal Patel was a bolt out of the blue in the 2021 season as he scalped a record-equalling 32 wickets with a bowling average of 14.34. He was very effective at the death with his slower balls and dipping yorkers. Many batsmen struggled to understand his bowling as he kept picking wickets at the death by outfoxing the batsmen. He even earned an India call-up due to his stellar performance. RCB managed to buy him back at 10.75 CR in the recent IPL auction.
