PLAYERSCOUNTRYMAN OF THE SERIES IN ODIMATCHES PLAYEDSERIES PLAYED
Sachin TendulkarIndia15463108
Virat KohliIndia1130274
Sanath JayasuriyaSri Lanka11445111
Shaun PollockSouth Africa930360
Chris GayleWest Indies830171
Viv RichardsWest Indies718740
Hashim AmlaSouth Africa718149
Shakib Al HasanBangladesh724773
Yuvraj SinghIndia730471
Sourav GangulyIndia731175
Ricky PontingAustralia737577
MS DhoniIndia735080

Key Insights

India’s domination in the ODI format is quite apparent from the above chart, with five Indian male players among the eleven who have won more than seven Player of the Series awards in ODI cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are both among the top three players on this list, with Kohli continuing to climb the chart at an impressive rate as he is still actively playing the format. You can refer to Virat Kohli’s list of ODI centuries to understand his consistent brilliance in almost every ODI series he has played.

However, the standout on this chart, for me, would be the legendary West Indian batter Sir Vivian Richards, who won 7 Player of the Series awards in just 40 ODI series. That’s an incredible achievement, averaging almost one award in every six series he participated in, especially considering the formidable West Indian team during his era. To truly grasp the kind of ODI monster he was, you can delve into his remarkable records.

If there is someone who is almost matching this phenomenon, it is Shubman Gill, with 5 Man of the Series awards in just 17 ODI series he has played. The other current players with 5 Man of the Series awards are Shai Hope, Mitchell Starc, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Rohit Sharma.

Babar Azam is also climbing rapidly (at a pace similar to Virat Kohli’s early career) with 4 Player of the Series performances in just 36 ODI series he has participated in.

Read: Babar Azam ODI Runs Year-wise