AB de Villiers to Yusuf Pathan: IPL superstars with most Player-of-the-Match awards

IPL has seen some big superstars make a huge mark in the cash-rich league. Here's a list of players who have won most Player-of-the-Match awards:

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers tops the list. The ex-Proteas skipper has a total of 25 Player-of-the-Match awards in his kitty.

In 184 games, De Villiers ended his IPL career with a whopping 5,162 runs at a strike rate of 151.68 including three centuries. He also represented the Delhi Daredevils (DD), now known as Delhi Capitals (DC).

Chris Gayle, an IPL legend, features in the second spot. The Universe Boss, who has represented RCB, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) so far, has won 22 Player-of-the-Match awards in IPL history.

He didn't register for IPL 2022 but hinted at making a comeback in the next season. He has amassed 4,965 runs at 39.72 and a strike rate of 148.96.

Rohit Sharma has blown hot and cold in the last few IPL seasons. However, he remains an IPL legend. He occupies the third spot in the list, with as many as 18 Player-of-the-Match awards so far.

Rohit -- third-highest run-getter overall (5,764) runs -- has led Mumbai Indians (MI) to five IPL titles and was also a part of the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC) in the initial seasons. 

Apart from his batting heroics, Rohit has also claimed an IPL hat-trick.

Two big names jointly occupy the fourth spot. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni and Delhi Capitals (DC) opener David Warner have won 17 Player-of-the-Match awards apiece. 

While Dhoni has 4,800 IPL runs along with leading CSK to 4 IPL trophies, Warner started his journey with the Delhi camp before becoming a superstar for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Now, he is back at the Delhi franchise. For the unversed, the swashbuckling left-hander has also won the Orange Cap thrice (the only player to do so) and led SRH to their only title in IPL 2016.

Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan -- former Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammates -- and champion cricketers feature in the fifth spot. Both of them have won 16 Player-of-the-Match awards each. 

While Yusuf represented KKR, RR and SRH, Watson appeared for CSK, RR, RCB. Both feature in the top 20 among batters with the most runs in IPL and have won the mega title more than once. Yusuf won it for RR and twice while playing for Kolkata. Meanwhile, Watson won for Rajasthan and Chennai (in 2018).