IPL: 3 players who have won the MVP award twice

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is one of the most prestigious accolades that are given out at the end of each Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

The MVP award, which was previously called the Man of the Tournament award, has a unique points system that favours all-rounders, which justifies the presence of the three all-rounders on this list.

The points system is as follows: fours are 2.5 points; sixes and wickets are 3.5 points each; catches and stumpings are 2.5 points each; a dot ball bowled is 1 point.

Here are the only 3 players in the history of the IPL to have won the MVP award twice.

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#3 Shane Watson (IPL 2008 and IPL 2013)

Shane Watson will be key to CSK's fortunes in the upcoming IPL

Shane Watson has played for 3 franchises in the IPL - the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Although the all-rounder hasn't been a regular with the ball in recent years, when he was a tad younger and his hamstrings were slightly less tight, he was a regular candidate for the MVP award.

Watson won the accolade twice for RR, in the inaugural season in 2008 and in 2013. RR had excellent campaigns in both seasons, winning the IPL under Shane Warne's captaincy in 2008 and finishing 3rd on the points table in 2013.

On a personal level, Watson scored 472 runs at an average of 47.2 and strike rate of 151.76, along with 4 fifties, in the 2008 IPL. The Australian also picked up 17 wickets at an economy rate of 7.07.

In the 2013 IPL, Watson went one better with the bat in hand, scoring 543 runs at an average of 38.78 and strike rate of 142.89. With the ball, he picked up another 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.15.

CSK will need him to be at his best at the top of the order in the upcoming IPL.

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#2 Sunil Narine (IPL 2012 and IPL 2018)

Sunil Narine has become absolutely lethal at the top of the order for KKR in the IPL

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Sunil Narine has only recently done enough with the bat to qualify as one, but he managed to pick up an MVP solely based on his performances with the ball in 2012.

The West Indian picked up 24 wickets in 15 games in his first IPL campaign at a mind-boggling economy rate of 5.47. He contributed only 9 runs with the bat, though, as his team finished 2nd on the points table.

In 2018, Narine had another incredible individual season as KKR finished 3rd. He scored 357 runs in 16 games, which is his best tally in a single IPL season so far, and took opposition bowlers to the cleaners in almost every powerplay. With the ball, the 32-year-old was as dependable as ever, with 17 wickets in 16 games at an economy rate of 7.65.

Narine will be one of KKR's most important players in conditions that favour him in the UAE.

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#1 Andre Russell (IPL 2015 and IPL 2019)

Andre Russell has been a colossus for KKR in the IPL

The second West Indian on this list, Andre Russell is probably the most dangerous player in the IPL at the moment. Blessed with raw power and pace, the KKR talisman has won the MVP award in 2015 and 2019.

Russell managed 326 runs in 13 games in the 2015 IPL, at an unfathomable strike rate of 192.89. He also picked up 14 wickets in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.96. Unfortunately for him, KKR finished 5th on the points table and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Russell was absolutely phenomenal in the 2019 IPL, and was the runaway MVP winner. With 510 runs in 14 games at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 204.81, both career-highs in a single campaign, he almost single-handedly willed Dinesh Karthik's side to the playoffs.

But again, KKR finished 5th, with the 32-year-old's 11 wickets also not enough to secure a top-four finish. Russell will be in action in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) soon, before he joins KKR for the 2020 IPL.

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