On February 20, the Indian T20 League marked 15 years as the first-ever auction of the league took place on the same date in 2008. To celebrate the glorious 15 years of the cash-rich tournament, Star Sports (the official broadcasters of the Indian T20 League) organized the “Incredible Premier League awards” to acknowledge the greatest captain, batter, and bowler in the tournament’s history, along with the impact player and the batting and bowling performance in a season.
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of the Mumbai franchise, won the award for the Incredible Captain in the Indian T20 League. Rohit has led Mumbai to the title five times. He defeated MS Dhoni, under whom the Chennai franchise has won the trophy, four times. Rohit was appointed as the skipper of Mumbai in 2013 and he went on to win the maiden title for Mumbai in his first attempt. The franchise then became champions in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Rohit Sharma thanked all his fans and supporters of Mumbai after winning the award.
“Thank you for all your support and the vote. It means a lot to me and to the franchise. Fans are the backbone and pillars of this team without a shadow of a doubt,” said Rohit on Star Sports. “The way these fans have supported us throughout the years and through our ups and downs, it means a lot to us. Every time we walk out on to the pitch, we wear that Mumbai jersey with a lot of pride and to bring a lot of joy on the faces of these fans. So, for us, it means a lot. Keep supporting us the way you have done the last 15 years. We will try our best to put our best on the field forward and to bring a lot of smiles,” said Rohit on Star Sports.
Here is Rohit Sharma’s video
Rohit Sharma speaking after winning the best captain of IPL history in "Incredible awards".pic.twitter.com/SYJd1ZHFil
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 20, 2023
De Villiers, Kohli and Bumrah also won in different categories
Along with Rohit, former South African batter, AB de Villiers won the award for the most Incredible Batter in the tournament’s history. He defeated Suresh Raina from Chennai to win this award. De Villiers has played for Delhi and Bangalore franchises in the Indian T20 league. Meanwhile, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Incredible Bowler. Bumrah has scalped 145 wickets in 120 games for Mumbai.
Star Indian batter Virat Kohli won the award for an Incredible Batting performance in a season, in 2016. The Bangalore skipper was in the beast mode in that season with 973 runs from 16 games smashing four centuries. Meanwhile, Incredible Bowling Performance for a season was awarded to Sunil Narine. The West Indian scalped 24 wickets from 15 games for Kolkata and played a pivotal role in his team becoming the Champions that season.
At last, Andre Russell from the Kolkata franchise clinched the award of Incredible Overall Impact defeating Shane Watson. Russell has been one of the main assets for Kolkata over the years by scoring 2035 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 177.88 and picking up wickets from 98 matches.
The 16th season of the Indian T20 League will kickstart from March 31 with an opening match between the defending champions Gujarat and Chennai at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
