IPL History: 10 most valuable players from the first 11 seasons
The Indian Premier League is the most successful Twenty20 league in the world. At the end of each season, a plethora of awards is given away to the players, of which the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is one of the most prestigious ones.
MVP is a comprehensive award as it covers all aspects of the game - batting, bowling, and fielding. Players are awarded points for their performance in the field.
Batting rules: 25 runs = 2.5 points, strike-rate bonus, par score bonus.
Bowling rules: 1 unassisted wicket = 2.5 points, 1 assisted wicket = 1.25 points for each contributor, multiple wicket bonuses, economy rate bonus, par score bonus.
Fielding rules: 1 unassisted wicket = 2.5 points, 1 assisted wicket = 1.25 points for each contributor, multiple wicket bonuses, par score bonus.
In the first 11 seasons, 10 players won the award with Shane Watson being the only player to win it twice. In this article, we try to make a list of top 10 most valuable players in the history of the league by combing the MVP of all the seasons together.
Also read: 11 players with most Man of the Match awards in the first 11 IPL seasons
#10 David Warner - 1692.5 MVP points
David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad is a completely different player from the David Warner of Delhi Daredevils. After shifting his base to Hyderabad from Delhi, he has performed consistently for SRH and led his side to their only IPL title in 2016.
In 9 seasons of the Indian Premier League, Warner accumulated 4014 runs at an average of 40.55. He hit a total of 401 fours and 151 sixes and has a strike rate of 142.14. In the last four seasons, ever since he got transferred to SRH, he scored in 528, 562, 848, and 641 runs in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons respectively. He also won the Orange Cap twice, in 2015 and 2017.
#9 AB de Villiers - 1701 MVP points
Mr.360 needs no introduction. He is a beast in himself dispatching the ball to all part of the ground. After playing his first three seasons for the Delhi Daredevils, he shifted to Bangalore. Since then, he has become a core member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore side and has single-handedly won them many matches.
Also read: IPL History - Top 3 knocks by AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers has been part of all 11 seasons of IPL and has scored 3953 runs. He has an average of 39.53 and an incredible strike rate of 150.94. In all the previous editions, he made a total of 28 half-centuries and three centuries with the help of 326 fours and 185 sixes.