Who is an MVP? Is he a leader? Is he a consistent performer? Is he a match-winner on his day? Is he the man of the moment during the toughest moments? Is he the one who puts his hand up during the toughest times? Probably all of that and even more. The MVP or Most Valuable Player is a constant contributor, a performer with bat, ball and on the field. He is a someone who inspires the team and a player who offers strength to others, around whom winning teams rally.
It came as no surprise that the top 5 players on the MVP list all featured in the IPL 2016 Final. The team which lifted the trophy eventually was the one that had 2 of those 5. Also, both captains featuring in the IPL 2016 Final were No.1 and No.2 on the MVP list.
Unfortunately, one of those 5 players had a bad game, showing why the Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up as IPL Champions. If ever there was a definition needed for an MVP, one only needs to look at David Warner and Virat Kohli and how they pulled the rest of their team over close to 6 weeks.
10) Dhawal Kulkarni – 203 points
Bowlers are generally unsung heroes and Kulkarni’s name might not get heard as much, even though he was the best bowler of the best team in the league stage of the IPL. However, he will take heart from his selection for the Zimbabwe tour.
Kulkarni ended up as the fourth highest wicket-taker with 18 wickets at 20.22. His economy of 7.42 was also extremely impressive. He bowled probably, the best spell by an Indian bowler this IPL in a losing cause for Gujarat Lions against RCB when they were defending a small total.
Nevertheless, the Lions’ pacer was consistent with line and length and showed his skill and zing on more than one occasion.
9) Moises Henriques – 217 points
Henriques played the all-rounder’s role to perfection for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, picking up 12 wickets at 34.58 with an economy just under 8. He bowled as many as 89 dots too. With the bat, he scored 182 runs in 15 innings with 3 not outs, the runs coming at an average of 15, a little below his normally good standards.
However, Henriques was critical for the Sunrisers’ plans, bowling quality overs with the ball and lending them some spine down the order with the bat considering they had a top-heavy batting early on in the tournament.
8) Andre Russell – 225 points
That KKR’s campaign came apart after his unfortunate exit due to an injury, which showed how important he was to the side. Gambhir also lamented his absence after the loss to the Sunrisers in the Eliminator.
Russell, the man who took West Indies to victory against India in the semi-final of the World Cup continued his prime form for Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 188 runs in 8 innings at 26.85 with a strike-rate of close to 165. With the 7th best bowling figures of 4/20 at this IPL, he also picked up 15 wickets, ending 10th on the highest wicket-takers’ list despite having played just 12 games.
He would have definitely ended up much higher had he played all the games. His average of 19.4 is only second to RCB’s Chahal amongst the top 10 wicket-takers.
7) Dwayne Smith – 229 points
Smith boasts of the second best bowling figures at this year’s IPL – 4/8 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Kanpur. However, most of the damage he did was with the bat, mostly from the top of the order.
He was one of the reasons why Gujarat Lions did so well and ended up top of the table in their very first season. Apart from 8 valuable wickets, Smith also scored 324 runs at 29.45 with a strike-rate of 146.60, including 3 half-centuries.
The all-round effort kept him in a side that was teeming with star foreign players like Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum.
6) Chris Morris – 247 points
Delhi Daredevils seemed primed to finish in the Top 4 midway through IPL 2016, before they lost their way. However, one man pulled his weight right throughout like he often does for his national side, South Africa.
Chris Morris, batting lower down the order, scored 195 runs in just 7 innings at an average of 65 and a strike-rate of 179 with 1 half-century. 12th on the wicket-takers’ list, Morris ended up with 13 wickets at 23.69.
However, it was his economy rate that makes him special. An economy of 7 puts him 8th on the list of best economy rates, 2nd if we consider bowlers with at least 20 overs of bowling. It was unfortunate, Delhi finished just outside the top 4. Otherwise, Morris’ numbers would have been even better.
5) Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 270 points
Kumar won the Purple Cap with 23 wickets at an average of 21.30 and an impressive economy of 7.4. After a bad start, when he was taken apart by a young Sarfaraz Khan, Bhuvneshwar came back brilliantly to be one-half of the best death-bowling pair at IPL 2016.
Along with Mustafizur Rahman, Kumar squeezed batsmen match after match, and deservingly bowled the last over of the IPL 2016, ensuring Sunrisers got their hands on the silverware.
Kumar’s death bowling was the reason the Sunrisers won three knock-out games - the Eliminator followed by Qualifier 2 and the Final. Kumar showed off his variety too, bowling in the high 130s and mixing his deliveries, knocking off many a wicket in the death overs. He also features in the top 5 bowling spells by Indian bowlers at IPL 2016.
4) Shane Watson – 283 points
The genius of the top 3 players showed in the gap between them and the rest of the stars in the IPL. Watson came a distant fourth but definitely justified the big price tag after retiring from international cricket. Watson had a terrible Final and that probably cost RCB the trophy, showing how teams need their big guns to fire.
Watson despite his ominous batting talent was more a bowling all-rounder this season. He scored 179 runs at just 13.76. However, he finished with 20 wickets in 16 innings, the third highest, at an average of 24.25 apiece, with an economy of 8.5, which is impressive considering he bowled half the time on the Bangalore pitch.
With best figures of 4/29, Watson proved to be a critical element in the bowling plans of RCB.
3) AB de Villiers – 319.5 points
That AB de Villiers had a quieter IPL shows the genius he is – he still ended up third on the MVP list. He was also third on the highest run-getters’ list with 687 runs at 52.8 with a strike-rate of 168.8, the highest amongst the top 10 run-getters.
With 37 sixes, he was second only to Virat and had a century and 6 half-centuries to show for his efforts. The century also put him on the highest individual score list, 129* in just 52 balls against Gujarat Lions.
AB de Villiers also played a brilliant innings to single-handedly win RCB the first Qualifier against the Lions from a precarious situation to take them into the Final. He also took an amazing 19 catches!
2) David Warner – 338.5 points
David ‘WARN’er led his side from the front, literally and metaphorically. The Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper gave his team swashbuckling starts match after match, forming a prolific partnership with the subdued Shikhar Dhawan who settled into a great supporting role.
Warner was the second highest run-getter this season with 848 runs at an average of 60.6 and a strike-rate of 151 with 9 half-centuries, the most by any batsman this year. He also smashed 31 sixes.
Although dominated on the runs’ front by Virat, Warner had the last laugh as he led his team to their first IPL trophy (Deccan Chargers had won it, but Sunrisers came into existence in 2013). He also scored 88 fours, the most by any batsman.
1) Virat Kohli – 356.5 points
Kohli still hasn’t won the IPL. He will surely, one day but he has to wait. He did everything he can. He fell agonisingly short of that Mount Everest of all stats – 1000 runs in one IPL season. He made 973. Probably, if he had not grown overconfident and scored those remaining 27, RCB would have had their hands on the silverware.
That doesn’t take anything away from a man who was in sublime touch right through. Hitting 38 sixes, the most by any batsman this IPL, Kohli’s 973, which gave him the Orange Cup were amassed at an average of 81 and a strike-rate of 152 and included 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries - Bradmanesque.
Despite opening the innings for RCB most of the times, he was not out in 4 of the 16 innings that he played. Besides, he led his troops brilliantly, inspiring his team, down and out at one time, to 5 successive victories, storming to second place finish at the end of the league stage – definitely everyone’s MVP for the season.
