The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) saw some great individual performances from a host of players throughout the season, which eventually warranted them getting the Player of the Match award. On most occasions, these mesmerising displays on the field eventually lead to the player’s team securing the win.
In the IPL, the Player of the Match winner gets a prize money of INR 1 lakh, along with a bespoke trophy. During the 2026 season, four players tied for the most Player of the Match accolades, each winning three. However, each player did not play in the same number of matches.
Here are the top three players with the most Player of the Match awards in IPL 2026:
3. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Virat Kohli – 3 in 16 matches
Team India’s present and the future both won three Player of the Match awards in 16 matches in the 2026 IPL season. Virat Kohli‘s honours twice came against the Gujarat Titans, including in the showpiece final in Ahmedabad. The 37-year-old scored an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls to guide the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their second consecutive title. The former captain also won the award against the Kolkata Knight Riders, where he scored an unbeaten 105 from 60 balls in Raipur to help his side secure a six-wicket win.Â
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, on the other hand, not only won three Player of the Match awards but was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), along with the Emerging Player of the Season. The 15-year-old’s most important Player of the Match-worthy innings came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator, where he scored 97 off just 29 balls and was well on course to register the fastest century in IPL history. The left-hander did score a hundred against the same opponent in Jaipur, but did not win the Player of the Match award as the Rajasthan Royals ended up on the losing side.
