Note (September 2026): This article was first written as a preview before the 2020 season; its team count, player details and a wrong claim about English players’ IPL availability have been corrected, and Andre Russell has since retired from the IPL.
The IPL player of the season award, officially the Most Valuable Player (MVP), has been won by 15 different players since 2008. Sunil Narine holds the record with three wins (2012, 2018, 2024), Shane Watson and Andre Russell have two each, and the most recent winner is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals, the 2026 MVP.
Key Takeaways
- The IPL Most Valuable Player award was called Man of the Tournament from 2008 to 2012 and has been decided by a points system since 2013.
- Sunil Narine is the only three-time winner; Shane Watson and Andre Russell have won it twice.
- Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have produced the most winners, five each.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the 2026 award along with the Orange Cap (776 runs) and the Emerging Player award.
- The award usually goes to a player whose team did not win the title; it happened only in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2024.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world. Each season, millions of fans tune in to watch its 10 franchises compete to be crowned as champions; the league had eight teams when it began in 2008 and has had ten since the 2022 season.
An interesting fact about this league is that even though it was founded in 2008 and it is relatively new, this is the most-attended cricket league in the world and it also ranks as the 6th most attended among all sports leagues, according to a 2014 ranking of average attendance.
While guessing the winner of this tournament is fun and challenging, this page looks at the most coveted individual prize of the IPL – the Player of the Series award, officially the Most Valuable Player (MVP). The three players profiled below were our top 3 picks when this article was first written ahead of the 2020 season; each section now notes how that player’s IPL story has played out since, and the complete list of winners follows.
This page does not cover betting on the award or on the IPL: India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits online money games, including betting and wagering, and the pages below stick to the cricket. Let’s begin.
Andre Russell
In the 2019 season, the Kolkata Knight Riders missed the play-offs on net run rate, but Andre Russell was shining. His strike rate was 204.81; he batted 13 times, scored 510 runs and averaged 56.66. Those 2019 numbers earned Andre Russell the Most Valuable Player award that season, his second after 2015, which made him a serious contender again in 2020, when the award went to Jofra Archer instead.
He is considered one of the greatest T20 players to ever play the game. With more than 500 Twenty20 matches behind him, Andre Russell retired from international cricket on 17 July 2025 and announced his retirement from the IPL on 30 November 2025, after playing for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014 to 2025.
Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler had the potential to cause mayhem in 2020, even though Rajasthan Royals were not the strongest team in the league. He is an English player that has enjoyed a prolific cricket record since a young age.
Jos played for Rajasthan Royals from 2018 to 2024 and has played for Gujarat Titans since 2025. Buttler did not win the award in 2020, but he took it in 2022, when he scored 863 runs with four centuries and won the Orange Cap for Rajasthan Royals. Earlier, he played for Mumbai Indians in 2016 and 2017 alongside Rohit Sharma, and he captained England’s white-ball sides until resigning during the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Hardik Pandya
The last player to be featured on our list is Hardik Pandya from the Mumbai Indians. Hardik was one of Mumbai Indians’ leading all-rounders in their title-winning 2019 season, contributing with both bat and ball. He has not yet won the Most Valuable Player award, but he captained Gujarat Titans to the 2022 title in their first season and was named Mumbai Indians captain in December 2023, succeeding Rohit Sharma.
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IPL Player of the Season: Every Winner
The award now known as the Most Valuable Player, and often called player of the season or player of the series, has been given every year since the league began. Here is the full list.
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Shane Watson | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | Deccan Chargers |
| 2010 | Sachin Tendulkar | Mumbai Indians |
| 2011 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2012 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2013 | Shane Watson | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2014 | Glenn Maxwell | Kings XI Punjab |
| 2015 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2016 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2017 | Ben Stokes | Rising Pune Supergiant |
| 2018 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2019 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2020 | Jofra Archer | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2022 | Jos Buttler | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2023 | Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans |
| 2024 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2025 | Suryakumar Yadav | Mumbai Indians |
| 2026 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan Royals |
Sunil Narine has won it three times, in 2012, 2018 and 2024, all with Kolkata Knight Riders. Shane Watson and Andre Russell have each won it twice.
The most recent winner is Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who took the 2026 award for Rajasthan Royals in a season where he also won the Orange Cap with 776 runs and hit a record 72 sixes, beating Chris Gayle’s IPL single-season mark of 59. For the champions of each season, see our IPL winners list.
How Is the IPL Most Valuable Player Decided?
The IPL Most Valuable Player is decided by a cumulative points table rather than a jury. From 2008 to 2012 the award was called Man of the Tournament and was chosen by assessment; in 2013 it was renamed Most Valuable Player and a points system was introduced, so batting, bowling and fielding all count.
| Contribution | MVP points |
|---|---|
| Six hit | 3.5 |
| Four hit | 2.5 |
| Wicket taken | 3.5 |
| Dot ball bowled | 1 |
| Catch taken | 2.5 |
| Stumping effected | 2.5 |
Because every six and every dot ball earns points, the system rewards all-rounders and explosive hitters. That explains why players such as Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who contribute with both bat and ball, have won it five times between them.
Most Valuable Player vs Orange Cap: Recent Seasons
The Most Valuable Player award is separate from the Orange Cap (most runs) and the Purple Cap (most wickets), although one player can win more than one. The table below shows the three awards for recent seasons, as listed in the record of IPL end-of-season awards.
| Season | Most Valuable Player (points) | Orange Cap (runs) | Purple Cap (wickets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Jos Buttler (387) | Jos Buttler (863) | Yuzvendra Chahal (27) |
| 2023 | Shubman Gill (343) | Shubman Gill (890) | Mohammed Shami (28) |
| 2024 | Sunil Narine (450) | Virat Kohli (741) | Harshal Patel (24) |
| 2025 | Suryakumar Yadav (320.5) | Sai Sudharsan (759) | Prasidh Krishna (25) |
| 2026 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (436.5) | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (776) | Kagiso Rabada (29) |
Players who have won both the Most Valuable Player award and the Orange Cap in the same season are Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Chris Gayle (2011), Virat Kohli (2016), Jos Buttler (2022), Shubman Gill (2023) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026).
IPL Most Valuable Player Records
Which team has produced the most IPL MVPs?
Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have produced the most winners, five each. Kolkata’s came from Sunil Narine (2012, 2018, 2024) and Andre Russell (2015, 2019); Rajasthan’s from Shane Watson (2008, 2013), Jofra Archer (2020), Jos Buttler (2022) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026). Royal Challengers Bengaluru, known as Royal Challengers Bangalore until 2024, have three.
How many Indian players have won the award?
Six Indian players have won the IPL Most Valuable Player award: Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Virat Kohli (2016), Harshal Patel (2021), Shubman Gill (2023), Suryakumar Yadav (2025) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026). The other 13 awards went to overseas players, led by West Indians Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.
Who is the youngest IPL MVP?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, born on 27 March 2011, was 15 during the 2026 season, which makes him by far the youngest winner. His name is also spelled Suryavanshi in many reports, including our Vaibhav Suryavanshi career and IPL stats profile; both spellings refer to the same batter. He also won the Emerging Player award in 2026 and hit 72 sixes, beating the previous IPL single-season record of 59 set by Chris Gayle.
What Happened to Our Original Three Picks?
None of the three players picked before the 2020 season won the award that year; Jofra Archer of Rajasthan Royals did. Their later careers went in different directions.
| Player | MVP wins | IPL status as of September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Andre Russell | 2015, 2019 | Retired from the IPL (announced 30 November 2025) after 12 seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Jos Buttler | 2022 | Plays for Gujarat Titans, who bought him for 15.75 crore rupees at the November 2024 auction |
| Hardik Pandya | None | Mumbai Indians captain since the 2024 season; led Gujarat Titans to the 2022 title |
For the business side of the league, including how franchises and media rights make money, see how the IPL business model works. Fans comparing the IPL with international tournaments can also browse the T20 World Cup winners list, and fantasy league players can use the free fantasy cricket team name generator.
IPL Player of the Season: Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who has won the IPL Most Valuable Player award the most times?
Sunil Narine, three times — in 2012, 2018 and 2024, all with Kolkata Knight Riders. Shane Watson and Andre Russell have each won it twice.
2. Who won the IPL player of the season award in 2026?
Vaibhav Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals. He also finished the season with the Orange Cap and set a world record with 72 sixes in the tournament.
3. Is the IPL player of the series the same as the Most Valuable Player?
Yes. The award has been referred to as player of the series, player of the season and Most Valuable Player at different times, but it recognises the same thing: the tournament’s outstanding individual performer.
4. Who won the first IPL player of the season award?
Shane Watson of Rajasthan Royals, in the inaugural 2008 season, which Rajasthan also won.
5. Has a player from the winning team always taken the award?
No. It often goes to a player whose team did not win the title — Jos Buttler took it in 2022 when Rajasthan Royals lost the final, and Shubman Gill won it in 2023 when Gujarat Titans were beaten in the final.
How many points does a six earn in the IPL MVP system?
A six earns 3.5 points in the IPL Most Valuable Player system, the same as a wicket. A four earns 2.5 points, a catch or stumping 2.5 points, and each dot ball bowled 1 point.
Who won the IPL Most Valuable Player award before Sooryavanshi?
Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians won the 2025 IPL Most Valuable Player award with 320.5 points. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won that season’s title, and Sai Sudharsan of Gujarat Titans took the Orange Cap.
Has Virat Kohli won the IPL MVP award?
Yes. Virat Kohli won the IPL Most Valuable Player award once, in 2016, when he also won the Orange Cap with 973 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Who won the IPL title in the season Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was MVP?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won IPL 2026, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 31 May 2026. Sooryavanshi’s Rajasthan Royals did not reach the final. Every season’s champion is listed in our IPL winners and runners-up list.
