Players with most POTM awards in T20 World Cups
What's the story
In a stellar display of bowling, veteran Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa led his team to a resounding nine-wicket victory over Oman in Match 40 of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. Zampa's four wickets for just 21 runs in 3.2 overs helped bowl Oman out for a mere 104 runs. With this, Zampa picked up his sixth Player-of-the-Match (PotM) award in T20 World Cups. On this note, we look at the players with the most such honors in T20 WCs.
Watson
Shane Watson - 5 awards
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson displayed many notable performances in his T20 WC career. Having played 24 games, the dasher hammered 537 runs at a strike rate of 140.94 (50s: 5). The tally also includes 22 scalps as he received the POTM award five times. He was adjudged the Player-of-the-Tournament at the 2012 World T20 (249 runs and 11 wickets).
Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene - 5 awards
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene also owns 5 POTM awards in the competition, having featured in 31 games. His tally of 1,016 runs at a strike rate of 134.74 is the second most for a batter in the tournament's history. Besides six fifties, he owns a ton as well. Jayawardene starred in Sri Lanka's title-winning run in 2014.
Gayle
Chris Gayle - 5 awards
West Indies star Chris Gayle also received the honor five times in his 33-match T20 WC career. He scored 965 runs at a strike rate of 142.75 in the competition (50s: 7). The batter also averaged a stellar 34.46. The southpaw remains the only batter with multiple tons in the competition (2). Gayle was a part of WI's title-winning campaigns in 2012 and 2016.
Zampa
Adam Zampa - 6 awards
With his latest efforts, Zampa became the player with the second-most 'Player of the Match' awards in the tournament's history (6). The four-fer against Oman took his T20 World Cup wicket tally to 44 in just 25 matches, at an impressive average of 13.84 (ER: 6.52). The spinner also has one five-wicket haul and three four-wicket hauls to his name with best figures of 5/19.
Kohli
Virat Kohli - 8 awards
Indian ace Virat Kohli tops this list, having been named the POTM seven times across 35 matches in the competition. The batter is the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 1,292 runs. Kohli averages an astronomical 58.72, the highest in the event among batters with at least 500 runs. He is also the player with the most fifty-plus scores in the tournament (15). The talisman was named the Player-of-the-Tournament twice (2014 and 2016).