Last year, Virender Sehwag was not even sure of his place in the one-day team. But the dashing opener seems to have learnt from his past mistakes and has started the 2008-09 season with a big bang.
After nine one-dayers of the current 2008-09 season, Sehwag is India's most valuable player (MVP) by a long mile.
Players who score a lot of runs and quickly; take the most wickets and bowl most economically; or take the most catches or make the most run outs, are seen to offer their teams the greatest "value".
- Statistics: Jayasuriya, Mendis emerge on top
India ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, quite like the team that he leads, is ranked second best.
Suresh Raina, currently fourth, has started the season very well too, but Rohit Sharma (10) has been a trifle disappointing and Yusuf Pathan (12) even more so.
Robin Uthappa too has started the season very poorly. One eagerly awaits the return of Sachin Tendulkar. He was India's most valuable ODI player last season.
Table 1: India's most valuable players of the 2008-09 season (9 matches so far)
| Rank | Player | Runs | Balls | Bat Pts | Bb | Rc | W | Bowl Pts | Ct St | Run Outs | Field Pts | M | MVPI |
| 1 | Virender Sehwag | 498 | 358 | 697.7 | 173 | 150 | 3 | 69.2 | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | 8 | 777 |
| 2 | MS Dhoni | 415 | 440 | 463.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 16 | 3.5 | 167.5 | 9 | 631 |
| 3 | Gautam Gambhir | 468 | 452 | 559.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 35.0 | 9 | 594 |
| 4 | Suresh Raina | 422 | 393 | 516.5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | -6.0 | 5 | 1 | 50.0 | 9 | 561 |
| 5 | Yuvraj Singh | 294 | 293 | 343.8 | 96 | 87 | 1 | 18.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 362 |
| 6 | RP Singh | 0 | 1 | -0.8 | 318 | 285 | 10 | 230.0 | 1 | 2 | 55.0 | 6 | 284 |
| 7 | Piyush Chawla | 2 | 7 | -1.8 | 322 | 295 | 11 | 248.3 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 6 | 252 |
| 8 | Irfan Pathan | 86 | 84 | 102.0 | 328 | 360 | 7 | 88.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 190 |
| 9 | Praveen Kumar | 12 | 16 | 10.7 | 351 | 296 | 6 | 146.5 | 2 | 0.5 | 22.5 | 7 | 180 |
| 10 | Rohit Sharma | 175 | 257 | 135.8 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 5.0 | 3 | 0.5 | 27.5 | 9 | 168 |
| 11 | Ishant Sharma | 8 | 19 | 0.2 | 396 | 372 | 8 | 158.0 | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | 7 | 168 |
| 12 | Yusuf Pathan | 28 | 41 | 21.8 | 234 | 193 | 3 | 77.0 | 4 | 0.5 | 32.5 | 7 | 131 |
| 13 | Pragyan Ojha | 6 | 17 | -2.2 | 180 | 136 | 3 | 89.0 | 3 | 0 | 15.0 | 3 | 102 |
| 14 | Manpreet Gony | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 94 | 76 | 2 | 52.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 52 |
| 15 | Robin Uthappa | 37 | 61 | 23.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 23 |
Runs (scored) | Balls (taken) | Bat-pts: Batting points | | Rc: Runs conceded | Bb: Balls bowled | W: Wickets taken | Bowl-pts: Bowling points | Ct/St: Catches taken / Stumpings | Run outs (participated) | Field-pts: fielding points | M: Matches played | Total (points) = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points | *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.
Sanath Jayasuriya, with a MVPI of 574, was the most valuable player of the Asia Cup, followed closely by Sehwag (573) and Ajantha Mendis (570). The man of the series had to be one among this trio, and it proved to be the mysterious Mendis.
Table 2: The 50 most valuable players of the Asia Cup:
| Rank | Player | Team | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | Bat Pts | Bb | Rc | W | Eco | Bowl Pts | Ct St | Run Outs | Field Pts | M | MVPI |
| 1 | S Jayasuriya | SL | 378 | 297 | 127.3 | 508.5 | 72 | 62 | 2 | 5.2 | 48.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 5 | 574 |
| 2 | V Sehwag | IND | 348 | 242 | 143.8 | 494.3 | 113 | 91 | 3 | 4.8 | 78.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 573 |
| 3 | Ajantha Mendis | SL | 46 | 29 | 158.6 | 67.8 | 252 | 145 | 17 | 3.5 | 490.0 | 0 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 5 | 570 |
| 4 | Suresh Raina | IND | 372 | 337 | 110.4 | 463.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 6 | 503 |
| 5 | MS Dhoni | IND | 327 | 358 | 91.3 | 355.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | 105 | 6 | 461 |
| 6 | K Sangakkara | SL | 345 | 348 | 99.1 | 400.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 9 | 0.5 | 57.5 | 6 | 458 |
| 7 | Younis Khan | PAK | 296 | 302 | 98.0 | 340.3 | 31 | 34 | 1 | 6.6 | 16.8 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 377 |
| 8 | M Muralitharan | SL | 8 | 7 | 114.3 | 10.2 | 288 | 184 | 11 | 3.8 | 331.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 351 |
| 9 | G Gambhir | IND | 259 | 256 | 101.2 | 304.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 6 | 340 |
| 10 | Alok Kapali | BAN | 172 | 175 | 98.3 | 198.2 | 166 | 165 | 5 | 6.0 | 98.3 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 312 |
| 11 | Sohail Tanvir | PAK | 71 | 67 | 106.0 | 86.2 | 252 | 241 | 10 | 5.7 | 219.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 305 |
| 12 | Shoaib Malik | PAK | 212 | 230 | 92.2 | 232.3 | 108 | 82 | 1 | 4.6 | 33.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 270 |
| 13 | C Kapugedera | SL | 209 | 226 | 92.5 | 229.7 | 30 | 25 | 0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1.5 | 37.5 | 6 | 267 |
| 14 | Raqibul Hasan | BAN | 195 | 218 | 89.4 | 208.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 45 | 5 | 253 |
| 15 | Iftikhar Anjum | PAK | 10 | 7 | 142.9 | 14.2 | 262 | 210 | 9 | 4.8 | 233.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 253 |
| 16 | Misbah-ul-Haq | PAK | 179 | 166 | 107.8 | 219.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 5 | 245 |
| 17 | N Kulasekara | SL | 92 | 101 | 91.1 | 99.8 | 260 | 216 | 5 | 5.0 | 125.7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 231 |
| 18 | M Jayawardene | SL | 177 | 197 | 89.8 | 189.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 215 |
| 19 | Amjad Ali | UAE | 96 | 97 | 99.0 | 111.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 100 | 2 | 211 |
| 20 | RP Singh | IND | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | -0.8 | 258 | 239 | 7 | 5.6 | 151.0 | 1 | 2 | 55 | 5 | 205 |
| 21 | T Dilshan | SL | 134 | 159 | 84.3 | 135.5 | 54 | 24 | 1 | 2.7 | 46.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 197 |
| 22 | Abdur Razzak | BAN | 38 | 52 | 73.1 | 32.7 | 278 | 247 | 7 | 5.3 | 159.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 192 |
| 23 | Yuvraj Singh | IND | 157 | 147 | 106.8 | 191.5 | 36 | 37 | 0 | 6.2 | -7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 185 |
| 24 | Mohd Ashraful | BAN | 165 | 201 | 82.1 | 162.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 178 |
| 25 | Chaminda Vaas | SL | 43 | 71 | 60.6 | 26.8 | 180 | 136 | 5 | 4.5 | 139.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 166 |
| 26 | Zahid Shah | UAE | 11 | 20 | 55.0 | 5.3 | 120 | 98 | 6 | 4.9 | 152.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 157 |
| 27 | Chamara Silva | SL | 126 | 153 | 82.4 | 124.5 | 24 | 21 | 1 | 5.3 | 24.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 154 |
| 28 | Thilan Thushara | SL | 76 | 66 | 115.2 | 97.0 | 210 | 200 | 3 | 5.7 | 50.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 147 |
| 29 | Piyush Chawla | IND | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 150 | 128 | 6 | 5.1 | 147.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 147 |
| 30 | Nasir Jamshed | PAK | 105 | 99 | 106.1 | 127.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 145 |
| 31 | Tamim Iqbal | BAN | 157 | 229 | 68.6 | 123.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 143 |
| 32 | Bazid Khan | PAK | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 108 | 90 | 5 | 5.0 | 125.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 130 |
| 33 | Salman Butt | PAK | 127 | 161 | 78.9 | 119.8 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 13.0 | -8.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 122 |
| 34 | Ishant Sharma | IND | 8 | 18 | 44.4 | 1.0 | 300 | 287 | 6 | 5.7 | 113.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 119 |
| 35 | Khurram Khan | UAE | 80 | 88 | 90.9 | 86.7 | 120 | 133 | 2 | 6.7 | 17.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 119 |
| 36 | Mohd Yousuf | PAK | 98 | 100 | 98.0 | 112.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 113 |
| 37 | Najeeb Amar | HKN | 34 | 41 | 82.9 | 33.8 | 120 | 75 | 2 | 3.8 | 75.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 109 |
| 38 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 116 | 160 | 72.5 | 98.7 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 109 |
| 39 | Nadeem Ahmed | HKN | 2 | 15 | 13.3 | -8.5 | 102 | 103 | 4 | 6.1 | 82.0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 2 | 109 |
| 40 | Pragyan Ojha | IND | 6 | 17 | 35.3 | -2.2 | 180 | 136 | 3 | 4.5 | 89.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 102 |
| 41 | Saeed Ajmal | PAK | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 110 | 66 | 3 | 3.6 | 100.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 101 |
| 42 | M Rahim | BAN | 105 | 148 | 70.9 | 86.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 97 |
| 43 | S Hossain | BAN | 0 | 6 | 0.0 | -5.0 | 209 | 232 | 6 | 6.7 | 92.2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 92 |
| 44 | Mohd Tauqir | UAE | 27 | 36 | 75.0 | 24.0 | 78 | 53 | 2 | 4.1 | 62.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 91 |
| 45 | M Mortaza | BAN | 40 | 70 | 57.1 | 21.7 | 234 | 242 | 4 | 6.2 | 53.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 85 |
| 46 | Shahid Afridi | PAK | 13 | 15 | 86.7 | 13.5 | 228 | 201 | 3 | 5.3 | 64.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 83 |
| 47 | Sarfraz Ahmed | PAK | 26 | 46 | 56.5 | 13.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 5 | 1.5 | 62.5 | 5 | 76 |
| 48 | Mahmudullah | BAN | 57 | 124 | 46.0 | 10.7 | 216 | 193 | 3 | 5.4 | 62.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 73 |
| 49 | M Udawatte | SL | 67 | 74 | 90.5 | 72.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 72 |
| 50 | Yusuf Pathan | IND | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | -3.3 | 198 | 162 | 2 | 4.9 | 53.0 | 2 | 0.5 | 22.5 | 4 | 72 |
Runs (scored) | Balls (taken) | Bat-pts: Batting points | | Rc: Runs conceded | Bb: Balls bowled | W: Wickets taken | Bowl-pts: Bowling points | Ct/St: Catches taken / Stumpings | Run outs (participated) | Field-pts: fielding points | M: Matches played | Total (points) = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points | *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.
Srinivas Bhogle, Purnendu Maji and Arthur D'Silva work for Cranes Software International [Get Quote] [Get Quote] Limited, Bangalore.
