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A player plays to win matches for his team either with the ball or with the bat. The importance of such performances increases manifolds during a multination tournament like the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup as there is added pressure on the players and the teams to perform in all three departments as failing to do so may result in a lot of backlash from the passionate fans who are the custodian of the game especially in Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Fans are a vital part of the game as they act as the twelfth man when the team is lagging behind in the game.
In this article, we will look at the players who have won the most number of Player of the match award in the T20 World Cup
Virat Kohli
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The former Indian captain has won the most number of Player of the Match award in the T20 World Cup. The right-hander has won 7 Player of the Match awards so far in 25 World Cup matches. In addition to it, Kohli also won the Player of the series award in 2014 and 2016. Although Virat Kohli has scored runs in almost every edition of the multination T20 tournament he hasn’t been able to guide India all the way in any of the editions.
Mahela Jayawardene
The former Sri Lankan captain was one of the island nation’s most consistent run scorers of his time along with another former legendary Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batter Kumar Sangakkara. Talking about Jayawardene’s performance in the T20 World Cup the right hinder ended up winning 5 player of the match awards in 31 World Cup games. He was an integral part of Sri Lanka’s title-winning campaign in 2014.
Also Read: Venues Of ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Part-1
Chris Gayle
The legendary West Indies left-hand batter is third on the list of batters with the most number of Player of the Match awards registered to their name having won it on 5 occasions in 33 World Cup matches. Known for his explosive batting Gayle was the first batter to score a century in the T20 World Cup having done so against South Africa during the inaugural edition in 2007 which took place in 2007. ‘The Universe Boss’ as he is famously known around the world of cricket played an integral part in helping WestIndies win the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup.
Also Read: Venues Of ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Part II
Shane Watson
The former Australian all-rounder has won 5 Player of the Match awards in 24 World Cup matches. Watson was a crucial part of Australia’s World Cup campaign before hanging up his boots from international cricket in 2016. The right-hander was handy with both bat and ball across formats but moreso in T20 cricket as he scored valuable runs for his team and had the ability to fox the batters with his slower balls.
AB de Villiers
The South African wicketkeeper batter won four Player of the Match awards in 30 matches for the Proteas as far as the T20 World Cup is concerned. Known more for his exploits in T20 cricket de Villiers has been successful in the longer format too be it Test cricket or ODI. The right-hander has made a name for himself as a batter who can play at different tempos something which he displayed in Test cricket while trying to save the match with the bat.
