Shane Watson, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Narine The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season is set to begin on March 28 when defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
How is the Most Valuable Player selected?
The league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) is decided through a points system that measures a player’s overall contribution over the course of a season. Players do not score points for runs directly. Instead, each four gets 2.5 points and each six gets 3.5 points. Bowlers receive 3.5 points per wicket and one point for each dot ball. Field efforts also count, with 2.5 points awarded for each catch and fumble. The player with the most points at the end of the season is named the MVP.
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Jay Shah calls 2019 to 2026 as the golden era of Indian cricket This concept was introduced in 2017, replacing the former Player of the Tournament award. Under this system, performance in batting, bowling and fielding is counted in a single points tally.The highest score scored in a single IPL season is 450 scored by Sunil Narine in the 2024 edition.Shane Watson was the first recipient of the Player of the Tournament award in 2008 and played a key role in Rajasthan Royals winning the title. He won it again in 2013 with the same franchise, becoming the first player to win the award twice. This season also saw the introduction of the points system. He remains one of three players to win the award more than once.Among others, Kolkata Knight Riders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have won the award multiple times, with Narine holding the record with three wins in 2012, 2018 and 2024. Players like Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Ben Harshal, Joshalt Butler have each won it once.Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav was named the player of the tournament (MVP) for the 2025 season.
Complete list of MVPs from IPL 2008-2025
YearPlayerTeam2008Shane WatsonRajasthan Royals2009Adam GilchristDeccan Chargers2010Sachin TendulkarMumbai Indians2011Chris GayleRoyal Challengers Bangalore2012Sunil NarineKolkata Knight Riders2013Shane Royal Watson2RajasthanBen Max. Kings2015Andre RussellKolkata Knight Riders2016Virat KohliRoyal Challengers Bangalore2017Ben StokesRising Pune Supergiant2018Sunil NarineKolkata Knight Riders2019Andre RussellKolkata Knight Riders2020JofraShaly Royal Challenge20Rajasthan Bangalore2022Jos ButtlerRajasthan Royals2023Shubman GillGujarat Titans2024Sunil NarineKolkata Knight Riders2025Surya Kumar YadavMumbai Indians
