The ICC ODI Cricket World Cup will be held from October 5. The tournament will be played in India, and the hosts are ready to brace for the challenge. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the team boasts some of the game’s big names – Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, etc. These big names will also attract plenty of attention during ODI World Cup betting.
We are confident that this bunch can win the trophy for India. Nonetheless, this article will reflect on India’s top performers in the past editions.
Player of the Tournament Winners in World Cup
In the first four editions of the World Cup, there was no Player of the Tournament award. In 1992, the edition in which it was launched, Martin Crowe won the award for his exploits with the bat. Here is a complete list of Player of the Tournament award winners:
| Year | Player | Contribution |
| 1992 | Martin Crowe (New Zealand) | 456 runs |
| 1996 | Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) | 221 runs & 7 wickets |
| 1999 | Lance Klusener (South Africa) | 281 runs & 17 wickets |
| 2003 | Sachin Tendulkar (India) | 673 runs & 2 wickets |
| 2007 | Glenn McGrath (Australia) | 26 wickets |
| 2011 | Yuvraj Singh (India) | 362 runs & 15 wickets |
| 2015 | Mitchell Starc (Australia) | 22 wickets |
| 2019 | Kane Williamson (New Zealand) | 578 runs & 2 wickets |
Players from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, and Australia have won the prestigious award in the World Cup.
Indians to Win Player of the Tournament Award in ODI World Cup
Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to win the award after a stellar 2003 World Cup with the bat. Eight years later, Yuvraj Singh followed Sachin’s footsteps. The swashbuckling cricketer contributed heavily with the bat and ball.
Let us look in detail at the respective World Cup campaigns of Tendulkar and Yuvraj.
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Sachin Tendulkar (2003 World Cup)
The Master Blaster was the first cricketer to be adjudged ‘Player of the Tournament’ from India, thanks to his sublime batting in the 2003 edition in South Africa. He had slammed astonishing 673 runs alongside claiming a couple of wickets. The then 30-year-old cricketer ensured that he produced one of his finest batting performances as he was in his peak years.
Opening the batting alongside Virender Sehwag, Sachin went on to slam a century against Namibia. However, he would miss two golden opportunities to score a century as he was dismissed on 98 against Pakistan. Moreover, he was out for 97 against Sri Lanka as well.
All in all, he scored one century but six half-centuries. This string of scores eventually helped India as they reached the finals, where they lost to Australia.
Here are his complete stats for the 2003 ODI World Cup:
| Innings | Runs | Average | 50s/100s | Highest Score |
| 11 | 673 | 61.18 | 6/1 | 152 vs Namibia |
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Yuvraj Singh (2011 ODI World Cup)
Unlike Tendulkar, Yuvraj had the opportunity to lift the Cup while becoming a player of the tournament at the same time. The dazzling left-handed batter showed his all-round skill as he played a key role in the middle order and gave India the breakthroughs with his left-arm spin.
He ended up scoring 362 runs and also ended up scoring 15 wickets in the nine matches he played. Coming out to bat at five, Yuvraj starred in almost every game. He didn’t get to bat against Bangladesh but scored fifty against England in Bengaluru.
This knock was followed by another fifty against the Netherlands in New Delhi. After this, Yuvraj slammed a hundred against West Indies in Chennai. Against Australia in the crunch semi-final, he helped India chase down the target as he remained unbeaten at 57.
Meanwhile, throughout the tournament, he also made crucial contributions with the ball. Yuvraj was a boon for MS Dhoni. India needed someone to take the pressure off fast bowlers in the middle overs, where spinners need to operate and bowl at least a minimum of ten overs. Here, Yuvraj gave Dhoni his all, bowling in the middle overs on many occasions.
Here are his batting stats for the 2011 ODI World Cup:
| Innings | Runs | Average | 50s/100s | Highest Score |
| 8 | 362 | 90.50 | 4/1 | 113 vs West Indies |
Here are his bowling stats for the 2011 ODI World Cup:
| Innings | Wickets | Econ | Strike Rate | Best Bowling Figures |
| 9 | 15 | 5.02 | 30 | 5/31 vs Ireland |
Concluding Thoughts
Tendulkar and Yuvraj are the two players to have won Player of the Tournament at the World Cup in an Indian jersey. Both players were part of the 2011 World Cup campaign, which saw India end a 28-year wait for a world title. It was more memorable for Yuvraj as he won the prestigious award too.
