There is nothing satisfying than being the player of the tournament in a big ICC event and it is even more cherishable if the player goes helps his nation win the ICC trophy. It is not easy to perform in pressure situations and every match in an ICC tournament does involve a lot of pressure.
The whole nation puts the weight behind the player and expects him to take the team home. It is an advantage if the consistent performer in big tournaments is not the captain of the side and it time to look at cricketers who won the player of the tournament award in the last 8 ICC tournaments.
Cricketers Who Won The Player Of The Tournament Award:
Kevin Pietersen – 2010 T20 Worldcup :
Kevin Pietersen. [Image-ICC]England won the T20 World Cup in the 2010 edition and one of the main reasons behind the win was the star batsmen Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen scored 248 runs in the 6 matches he played at an average of 62 and a strike rate of 137 and he scored two half-centuries in the tournament as well. He has adjudged the player of the tournament for his exploits and he was consistent enough too.
Yuvraj Singh – 2011 Cricket World Cup:
Yuvraj Singh[photo: Twitter]Yuvraj Singh had a memorable 2011 Cricket World Cup were kept on piling up runs with the bat as well as with the ball. He was so consistent and he proved to be the fifth bowler for India while picking up regular wickets as well. Yuvraj scored 362 runs in 9 matches with one century and four half-centuries in the tournament and he averaged more than 90 with the bat. He also picked up 15 wickets with the ball.
Shikhar Dhawan – 2013 Champions Trophy:
Shikhar Dhawan[photo: Twitter]Shikhar Dhawan is often regarded as the man for the ICC tournaments by India as he helped India win the Champions Trophy in 2013. Dhawan scored 363 runs in 5 matches at an average of 90.75 and finished with two centuries and one-half century in the tournament. He emerged as the highest run-scorer in the tournament and the left-hander will remember it forever.
Virat Kohli – 2014 T20 World Cup:
Virat Kohli[photo: Twitter]Virat Kohli had a tremendous 2014 T20 World Cup where he took India single-handedly to the finals of the tournament. He finished as the top run-scorer in the tournament with 319 runs in 6 games at an average of 106.33 and scored four half-centuries in the process. He rescued India in the finals too but it wasn’t enough as Sri Lanka chased down the score easily.
Mitchell Starc – 2015 Cricket World Cup:
Mitchell Starc[photo: Twitter]Mitchell Starc ran through the batting orders in the 2015 T20 World Cup with his vicious inswinging yorkers and toe crushers. Starc was unplayable almost and he picked up 22 wickets in the tournament in 8 games to lead the bowling charts and he had a stunning average of 10.18 with the ball. He was the adjudged man of the tournament for being very aggressive with the ball.
Virat Kohli – 2016 T20 World Cup:
Virat Kohli[photo: Twitter]Virat Kohli showed his excellence yet again in the 2016 T20 World Cup but couldn’t get his team above in the semi-finals against West Indies. Kohli finished as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 273 runs in 5 games at a sensation average of 136.50.
He scored three half-centuries in the tournament and was dismissed just twice in the five innings he played in the tournament which earned him the player of the tournament award.
Hasan Ali – 2017 Champions Trophy:
Hasan Ali[photo: Twitter]Hasan Ali was in fine form in the ICC 2017 Champions Trophy and he brought Pakistan from nowhere to win the title. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 wickets in 5 games at an average of 14.69. He was very consistent with his lines and lengths and his reverse swing abilities were mind-blowing. He kept hitting the yorkers and finished as the man of the tournament.
Kane Williamson – 2019 Cricket World Cup:
Kane Williamson[photo: Twitter]The New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won a lot of hearts in the 2019 World Cup despite ending up on the losing side in the final against England.
However, he received the man of the tournament award for playing a key part in taking his side single-handedly to the finals with 578 runs in 10 games at an average of 82.57. He scored two centuries and two half-centuries in the tournament and he deserved the player of the tournament award.
