India secured their 18th consecutive series victory at home by defeating Bangladesh in the second Test at Green Park, Kanpur, cementing their position at the top of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ for his exceptional performances in the series. This was his 11th Player of the Series award.
That put Ashwin level with Sri Lankan legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who also had 11 Player of the Series awards in the longer format of the game.
Here is a list of top 5 players who have won the most Player of the Series awards in Test cricket:
1) Ravichandran Ashwin- 11 awards
R Ashwin has equaled Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of the number of Player of the Series awards in Tests. Ashwin and Murali have both earned 11 Player of the Series awards in Test cricket.
While Ashwin achieved the milestone of 11 Player of the Series awards in 42 Test series, Murali took 61 Test series, so he ranks on the top of the list.
Also read: Yashasvi Jaiswal becomes first Indian to achieve this feat in 92 Years
2) Muttiah Muralitharan- 11 awards
The great Muralitharan holds the unique record for taking most wickets in One Day Internationals as well as Test matches. He was a giant performer.
Murali took 61 Test series to grab 11 Player of the Series awards, so he ranks 2nd on the list.
3) Jacques Kallis- 9 awards
Former South African cricketer Jacques Kallis is often labeled as ‘the most complete player’ in cricket’s history. Kallis played in a total of 166 Tests in 61 Test series for the Proteas.
In nine out of the 61 series, he was awarded with the Player of the Series.
Also read: Morne Morkel heaps high praise on ‘complete package’ Ravindra Jadeja
4) Imran Khan- 8 awards
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan is forth on the list with eight Man of the Series awards in 28 Test series.
Imran Khan had a terrific career across formats and ended up taking 362 wickets in 88 Test matches. He also scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69 with six test centuries.
5) Sir Richard Hadlee- 8 awards
Sir Richard Hadlee had an exceptional record for winning the Man of The Series award. Richard Hadlee participated in 33 test series during his career and achieved the prestigious award on eight occasions.
Richard Hadlee participated in 86 test matches throughout his test career spanning 17 years, where he managed to take 431 wickets.
