IPL: Most Player of the Match Awards

They say catches win you matches, which is true. But there have been batters who have proved the saying wrong sometimes. Their knocks with the bat have won them matches, and they have been recognised for the same on several occasions. Players don’t get the Player of the Match award for taking catches, but they sure do for their batting knocks and bowling spells.

There have been occasions when the batters come out all guns blazing and take their team to victories, and the Indian Premier League has witnessed such events multiple times. On that note, let’s look at three players who have won the most Player of the Match awards in the tournament’s history.

Rohit Sharma | 19

Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma has represented two franchises throughout the 16 editions of the IPL. After playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the first three editions of the tournament, Rohit was roped in by the Mumbai Indians franchise in the year 2011. That turned out to be one of the best buys for MI in the history of IPL as since then, Rohit has led the team to five title victories and has bagged the Player of the Match award 19 times.

Chris Gayle | 22

Over the years, West Indies’ star batter Chris Gayle represented three teams in IPL. He started his IPL career by playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 and 2010, moved to the Royal Challengers Bangalore to play for them from 2011 to 2017, and was roped in by the Punjab-based franchise for the period of 2018-2021. Over the 13 years of his IPL career, he won the Player of the Match award 22 times, while also earning the tag of the most destructive batter.

AB de Villiers | 25

Just like Rohit Sharma, South African star AB de Villiers has also represented only two franchises throughout his IPL career. He was roped in by the Delhi-based franchise in the inaugural edition and represented the side till 2010 before making his way to RCB. De Villiers’ best version came during his time at RCB as the veteran also ended his career with the same franchise. One of the finest batters to have ever graced the sport, de Villiers has won the Player of the Match award most number of times, tallying to 25.