Decoding players with most POTM awards in ODI World Cups
India claimed their sixth consecutive win in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup with a comprehensive 100-run triumph over England in Lucknow. The Men in Blue successfully defended 229. The solitary half-century in the entire game came from Rohit Sharma's blade, who scored a 101-ball 87 to claim the Player-of-the-Match award. Here we decode the players with the most POTM awards in ODI WCs.
These players own 5 POTM awards (1/2)
West Indies's Vivian Richards, England's Graham Gooch, and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya have claimed five POTM awards in WCs. Richards received the honor in the final of the 1979 edition. He scored an unbeaten 138 against England. Jayasuriya, meanwhile, was named the Player of the Tournament in the 1996 edition. Gooch received the POTM award for his 115 against India in the 1987 semi-final.
These players own 5 POTM awards (2/2)
Australia's Mark Waugh, and South Africans Lance Klusener and AB de Villiers are the others with five POTM awards in WCs. Klusener has played the least matches among the aforementioned names (14). He was also the Player of the Tournament in 1999. Two of de Villiers's POTM awards came in the 2015 edition.
Glenn McGrath holds the third spot
At number three, we have Australia's pace-bowling legend Glenn McGrath. He finished his WC career with six POTM awards in 39 matches. He was also named the Player of the Tournament in the 2007 edition, which turned out to be his last WC. McGrath claimed 26 wickets in that tournament. His tally of 71 WC wickets is still the most for any bowler.
Rohit Sharma jumps to second place
The one against England was Rohit's seventh POTM award in just 23 WC games. This was his second honor this year as he was also named the POTM for his fiery 131 against Afghanistan. Notably, four of Rohit's POTM awards came in the 2019 edition. His remaining POTM award in WC came in the 2015 quarter-final against Bangladesh for scoring 137.
Sachin Tendulkar tops this list
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar occupies the top spot on this list, having claimed nine POTM awards in 45 WC matches. The former Indian opener was named the Player of the Tournament in 2003 for scoring 673 runs. No other batter has scored more runs in a WC edition. He also received the honor for scoring a vital 85 against Pakistan in the 2011 semi-final.
