Man of the Match awards in T20Is: Virat Kohli, Mohammad Nabi lead the pack

Twenty20, which is deemed the most exciting format in recent years, has seen some of the finest players grace the game of cricket.

In some matches, these players come out with an extraordinary performance for their team, which takes the cricketing world by storm, winning the Man of the Match award in the process.

Man of the Match is an award that’s given to a player for an exemplary contribution in the match, either in a winning or losing cause. 

Even since the inception of the T20I format in 2005, many cricketing greats have gone on to win the Man of the Match award multiple times, with Virat Kohli and Mohammad Nabi leading the list of popular names. 

Indian batting sensation Virat Kohli’s 13 awards top the list of most Man of the Match awards in T20Is. He received his first-ever award in the shortest format during the group stage match of ICC T20 World Cup 2012 against Afghanistan, where he scored a half-century. 

His 13th award also came against Afghanistan in the Super Four clash of the Asia Cup 2022. Kohli smashed his first ton in T20Is to guide the Men in Blue to victory, ending a wait of more than three years for an international century.  

Meanwhile, Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi’s 13 Man of the Match awards in T20Is are right at the top with Virat Kohli. Nabi has been an integral part of the Afghanistan set-up and has played an important role in their resurgence over the years. 

He has scored 1669 runs and scalped 83 wickets in 101 T20Is, which speaks volumes about his all-round ability. 

Next up on the list is the Team India skipper Rohit Sharma. 

The opening batter has played some fine knocks for his team and has 12 Man of the Match awards to show for it. He also has the most 100s in T20Is, with three of them resulting in as many Man of the Match awards out of 12.

Pakistan duo of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez are next on the list of most Man of the Match awards in T20Is, with 11 each.

Shahid Afridi’s most memorable Man of the Match award has to be the one that he won during ICC T20 World Cup Final in 2009 at Lord’s. His all-round show of 54* and 1/20 with the ball helped Pakistan win their maiden World T20 title.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez’s knock of 86 runs and a brilliant spell of 3/25 in a 95-run win over South Africa in 2013 stands out from his total of 11 Man of the Match awards.

Widely regarded as the best entertainer in the sport, Chris Gayle has won 10 Man of the Match awards in T20Is in his glittering career of 79 T20I matches. 

Most Man of the Match awards in T20Is

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Featured photo: Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP