Often hailed as the toughest format in international cricket, the test format has witnessed numerous legendary and iconic cricketers over the decades who have fought the odds and created a legacy with their match-winning knocks that still resonate in the annals of test cricket. Apart from leading their teams to glorious victories, it’s a mainstream dream for every cricketer to clinch the eminent “Man of the Match” award. While a lot of cricketers have been able to pull of their dream of winning the prestigious “Man of the Match” award with their match-winning innings in Test cricket, a few of them have had the twist of fate to win it multiple times.
In this article we will take a look at the top five iconic cricketers who have won the most Man of the Match awards in Test cricket format.
Top Five Cricketers with the Most Man of the Match Awards in Test Cricket
- Jacques Kallis, South Africa – 23 Awards
Former South African professional international cricketer and current cricket coach of the South African cricket team, Jacques Kallis, is at the first spot on our list of top five iconic cricketers who have won the most Man of the Match awards in the Test cricket format, with an unbeaten total of 23 Man of the Match awards. Often hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders to ever play for South Africa, Jacques Kallis is the only cricketer in the world to pick up a total of over 250 wickets and score over 10,000 runs in both ODI and Test cricket, which says volumes about his unmatched excellence on the field.
- Muthiah Muralidaran, Sri Lanka – 19 Awards
Often hailed as the “main man” of Sri Lanka’s winning cricket team at the 1996 Cricket World Cup, Muthiah Muralidaran is widely and rightly regarded as one of the greatest bowlers to ever represent Sri Lanka at an international level. With a total of 800 test wickets and more than 530 ODI wickets, Muthiah Muralidaran is arguably the highest-wicket taker in international cricket as of 2024.
Well, there’s one more feather in his already decorated cap. Muthiah Muralidaran has been awarded with the prestigious Man of the Match award for a record total of nineteen times throughout his test career that lasted from 1993 to 2011.
- Wasim Akram, Pakistan – 17 Awards
The third cricketer in our list of top five cricketers who have won the most Man of The Match awards in ODI cricket, Wasim Akram proved the fact that not all groundbreaking performances in cricket are about the batsman. A few showdowns belong to the bowlers of the team, as well.
The former Pakistani international cricketer Wasim Akram made his Test debut in 1985 against New Zealand and played his career’s last Test match against Bangladesh in 2002. Often hailed as one of the greatest bowlers of all-time, Wasim Akram has been awarded with the Man of the Match award for the third-highest record total of seventeen times in the test format.
- Shane Keith Warne, Australia – 17 Awards
Well, Shane Keith Warne is undoubtedly a name that still resonates with the world as one of the greatest cricketers ever introduced by Australia in international cricket. The late former Australian cricketer Shane Keith Warne represented the Australian cricket team across all international cricket formats from 1992 to 2007.
Shane Warne was popularly considered as one of the most lethal bowlers in limited-overs and was widely regarded as the ultimate “master” of leg spinners. In his utterly glorious test career that lasted over a decade, Shane Warne was honored with the prestigious Man of the Match award for a record total of seventeen times.
- Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka – 16 Awards
Finally, at the fifth spot in our list of the top five legendary cricketers of all-time who have won the most Man of the Match awards in the Test cricket format, we have, former international cricketer and skipper of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara popularly known as, “Kumar Sangakkara” who represented Sri Lanka across all international cricket formats from 2000 to 2015.
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Popularly hailed as one of the greatest Sri Lankan cricketers of all-time, Kumar Sangakkara played a pivotal role in leading his team to a bunch of glorious victories at the most prestigious tournaments, including the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship, 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and 2014 T20 World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara represented the Sri Lankan side in a total of 134 test matches and amassed a brilliant total of 124000* runs. Kumar Sangakkara also received the coveted Man of the Match award for his match-winning innings in test format for a total of sixteen times.
