Kolkata, Feb 20 (Representative) Ever since its inception in 2008, the IPL has revolutionized the way crickethas been viewed, consumed, and even played. As the Incredible League completes 15 years, Star Sports pays tribute and celebrates the second biggest league in the world which has resonated widely across every fan in the country and around the globe. On February 20, the 15th anniversary of the first IPL auction, Star Sports celebrated the grandeurof the tournament with a special Incredible Premier League awards show recognizing fabled accomplishments on the field during the storied history of the tournament. The Incredible Premier League awards show paid homage to some of the most outstanding contributions by players who have dazzled fans with their incredible performances over the years. The awards for the Best Captain, Batter, Bowler, Impact Player, Batting Performance & Bowling Performance had some remarkable nominees. The winners of this prestigious awards are: Incredible Captain: Rohit Sharma: Leading the Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL titles, Rohit Sharma bagged the award for the Best Captain moving past the likes of Chennai Super Kings’ talismanic leader MS Dhoni. Leading the Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL titles, Rohit hasbeen one of the most influential superstars in 15 years of the IPL. With no prior experience in captaincy, he took over the reins from Ricky Ponting and has never looked back since. The swashbuckling batsman has been a prolific run-getter, who has achieved numerous times, while leading the MI Paltan onto the field.Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma thanked all his fans and supporters for voting him as the ‘Incredible Captain’ in 15 years of the IPL, he said, “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. 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.” Incredible Batter: AB DeVilliers: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 360-degree star AB de Villiers won the award for the ‘Incredible Batter’ overtaking Suresh Raina. ABD’s ability to hit the ball all around the park, stands head and shoulders above other batsman in the IPL due to his ability to single handedly win his team matches. De Villiers had some of the most eye-catching innings in the IPLand his performances won him fans from all over India, with every stadium chanting his name when he came in to bat.Incredible Bowler: Jasprit Burrah: Mumbai Indians’ leader of the pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Incredible Bowler award ahead of Sunil Narine. The Indian speedster’s ability to bowl toe-crushing yorkers in the death overs has made even easy chases for opponents seem like a mammoth task.Beginning his IPL career under the tutelage of Lasith Malinga, Bumrah has been instrumental to MI’s success over the years and has marked himself as one of the biggest stars in the IPL. His performances over the years to bring his side home from seemingly impossible situations bags him the Incredible bowler award in 15 years of the IPL.
Incredible overall impact : Andre Russell: One of the most belligerent players in the IPL, Andre Russell sealed the Incredible Overall Impact award ahead of Shane Watson. Russell has been oneof the most incredible impact players for KKR over the years. Contributing with both bat and ball, the attacking all-rounder from the Caribbean has come to his team’s aid on innumerable occasions and has lit up faces of fans with some unbelievable performances. Whether it was to set a big total on the board or to chase down improbable targets set by opponents, he has been a trump card for KKR and is rightly the most incredible overall impact player in the IPL.Incredible Batting performance in a season – Virat Kohli in 2016: King Kohli’s record performance in IPL 2016 powered the India sensation to win the ‘Incredible Batting Performance in a Season’ award moving past his close compatriot Chris Gayle’s performance for the same team in 2011. Kohli’s batsmanship in the 2016 edition of the IPL marks itself as one of the greatest spectacles in sport. Not only did he lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the finals of the tournament, but scored 973 runs, smashing four centuries, and setting the record for the most runs in an IPL season.Incredible Bowling performance in a season – Sunil Narine in 2012: Sunil Narine was picked as the winner of the ‘Incredible Bowling Performance in a Season’ ahead of Rashid Khan’s showing in 2018 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Back then, the young Narine had just played three international matches and was pretty much an unknown entity. However, the West Indian paid rich dividends to KKR, picking up 24 wickets in 15 games that campaign, with an economy rate of 5.4 in his debut season. His performances with the ball ledKKR to its maiden IPL trophy that year.