After winning the International Cricket Council's ODI Player of the Year 2008 award, it is not such a big surprise that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also India's most valuable ODI player so far in the 2008-09 season.
However, the Indian ODI captain faces stiff competition from Virender Sehwag. In fact, Sehwag would have been an easy topper if he had been fit to play the India-Sri Lanka ODI series that ended recently.
Batsmen scoring a lot of runs at a good strike rate, bowler taking the most wickets at a good (low) economy rate and fielders taking the most catches or run outs, are seen to offer their teams the greatest "value". The most valuable player index (MVPI) collapses a player's all-round performance into a suitable 'run equivalent'.
Table 1: India's MVP in the 2008-09 ODI season (14 matches so far)
| Rank | Player | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | Bat Pts | Bb | Rc | W | Eco | Bowl Pts | Ct St | Run Outs | Field Pts | M | Total |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 608 | 689 | 88.2 | 641.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 20 | 3.5 | 187.5 | 14 | 829 |
| 2 | Virender Sehwag | 498 | 358 | 139.1 | 697.7 | 173 | 150 | 3 | 5.2 | 69.2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 777 |
| 3 | Suresh Raina | 579 | 603 | 96.0 | 655.5 | 18 | 22 | 0 | 7.3 | -7.0 | 7 | 1 | 60 | 14 | 709 |
| 4 | Gautam Gambhir | 504 | 511 | 98.6 | 582.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 45 | 13 | 627 |
| 5 | Yuvraj Singh | 366 | 401 | 91.3 | 397.8 | 234 | 198 | 4 | 5.1 | 97.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 505 |
| 6 | Irfan Pathan | 105 | 126 | 83.3 | 105.0 | 460 | 416 | 10 | 5.4 | 217.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 327 |
| 7 | Praveen Kumar | 16 | 25 | 64.0 | 11.2 | 495 | 417 | 11 | 5.1 | 270.5 | 3 | 0.5 | 27.5 | 10 | 309 |
| 8 | Zaheer Khan | 18 | 66 | 27.3 | -19.0 | 278 | 144 | 9 | 3.1 | 312.7 | 0 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 5 | 306 |
| 9 | RP Singh | 4 | 14 | 28.6 | -3.7 | 366 | 339 | 11 | 5.6 | 241.0 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 7 | 297 |
| 10 | Rohit Sharma | 247 | 350 | 70.6 | 202.3 | 83 | 42 | 0 | 3.0 | 27.2 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 14 | 270 |
| 11 | Piyush Chawla | 2 | 7 | 28.6 | -1.8 | 322 | 295 | 11 | 5.5 | 248.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 252 |
| 12 | Munaf Patel | 20 | 17 | 117.6 | 25.8 | 246 | 166 | 7 | 4.0 | 214.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 245 |
| 13 | Harbhajan Singh | 17 | 44 | 38.6 | -2.7 | 178 | 113 | 6 | 3.8 | 185.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 4 | 200 |
| 14 | Pragyan Ojha | 27 | 46 | 58.7 | 15.7 | 258 | 173 | 5 | 4.0 | 167.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 198 |
| 15 | Ishant Sharma | 8 | 19 | 42.1 | 0.2 | 396 | 385 | 8 | 5.8 | 145.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 155 |
| 16 | Virat Kohli | 159 | 239 | 66.5 | 118.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 3 | 0.5 | 27.5 | 5 | 146 |
| 17 | Yusuf Pathan | 28 | 41 | 68.3 | 21.8 | 234 | 193 | 3 | 4.9 | 77.0 | 4 | 0.5 | 32.5 | 7 | 131 |
| 18 | Manpreet Gony | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 94 | 76 | 2 | 4.9 | 52.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 52 |
| 19 | Robin Uthappa | 37 | 61 | 60.7 | 23.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| 20 | S Badrinath | 39 | 87 | 44.8 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 16 |
Runs (scored) | Balls (faced) | Strike rate | Bat-pts: Batting points | Bb: Balls bowled | Rc: Runs conceded | W: Wickets taken | Eco: Economy rate | 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.
Dhoni was also voted the Player of the Series in the five-match series against Sri Lanka, presumably for his two crucial half-centuries and his 'cool' captaincy, that largely contributed to India's series victory.
But Sri Lanka's Thilan Thushara must consider himself a trifle unlucky to miss this honour, because he was, without a doubt, statistically the best performer of the series.
It was also a series in which the bowlers ruled, with the top six players all being bowlers. Perhaps the fact that Dhoni was the highest run-getter on these batsmen-unfriendly pitches also tilted the scales in his favour.
Table 2: The most valuable players in the India-SL ODI series
| Rank | Player | Team | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | Bat Pts | Bb | Rc | W | Eco | Bowl Pts | Ct St | Run Outs | Field Pts | M | Total |
| 1 | Thilan Thushara | SL | 168 | 176 | 95.5 | 189.3 | 208 | 159 | 10 | 4.6 | 264.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 459 |
| 2 | Ajantha Mendis | SL | 8 | 22 | 36.4 | -2.3 | 261 | 152 | 13 | 3.5 | 390.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 388 |
| 3 | N Kulasekara | SL | 48 | 115 | 41.7 | 0.2 | 240 | 159 | 11 | 4.0 | 316.0 | 2 | 0.5 | 22.5 | 5 | 339 |
| 4 | Zaheer Khan | IND | 18 | 66 | 27.3 | -19.0 | 278 | 144 | 9 | 3.1 | 312.7 | 0 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 5 | 306 |
| 5 | Munaf Patel | IND | 20 | 17 | 117.6 | 25.8 | 246 | 166 | 7 | 4.0 | 214.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 245 |
| 6 | Harbhajan Singh | IND | 17 | 44 | 38.6 | -2.7 | 178 | 113 | 6 | 3.8 | 185.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 4 | 200 |
| 7 | MS Dhoni | IND | 193 | 249 | 77.5 | 178.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 199 |
| 8 | M Jayawardene | SL | 185 | 268 | 69.0 | 146.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 7 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 182 |
| 9 | Suresh Raina | IND | 157 | 210 | 74.8 | 139.0 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 5.5 | -1.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 148 |
| 10 | Virat Kohli | IND | 159 | 239 | 66.5 | 118.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 3 | 0.5 | 27.5 | 5 | 146 |
| 11 | Yuvraj Singh | IND | 72 | 108 | 66.7 | 54.0 | 138 | 111 | 3 | 4.8 | 79.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 143 |
| 12 | M Muralitharan | SL | 18 | 37 | 48.6 | 5.2 | 226 | 172 | 4 | 4.6 | 116.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 4 | 139 |
| 13 | Praveen Kumar | IND | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 0.5 | 144 | 121 | 5 | 5.0 | 124.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 130 |
| 14 | D Fernando | SL | 12 | 12 | 100.0 | 14.0 | 86 | 49 | 3 | 3.4 | 97.7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 117 |
| 15 | S Jayasuriya | SL | 97 | 126 | 77.0 | 89.0 | 84 | 61 | 0 | 4.4 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 103 |
| 16 | Chaminda Vaas | SL | 17 | 33 | 51.5 | 6.5 | 168 | 107 | 2 | 3.8 | 83.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 95 |
| 17 | Pragyan Ojha | IND | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 10.3 | 78 | 37 | 2 | 2.8 | 78.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 93 |
| 18 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 72 | 93 | 77.4 | 66.5 | 59 | 40 | 0 | 4.1 | 9.2 | 0 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 5 | 88 |
| 19 | Irfan Pathan | IND | 19 | 42 | 45.2 | 3.0 | 132 | 108 | 3 | 4.9 | 77.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 85 |
| 20 | C Kapugedera | SL | 113 | 186 | 60.8 | 71.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 81 |
| 21 | Jehan Mubarak | SL | 47 | 55 | 85.5 | 48.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 48 |
| 22 | T Dilshan | SL | 44 | 76 | 57.9 | 24.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 17.5 | 4 | 42 |
| 23 | M Udawatte | SL | 43 | 55 | 78.2 | 40.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 |
| 24 | K Sangakkara | SL | 37 | 84 | 44.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 4 | 0.5 | 32.5 | 5 | 37 |
| 25 | G Gambhir | IND | 36 | 59 | 61.0 | 22.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 33 |
| 26 | Chamara Silva | SL | 1 | 7 | 14.3 | -3.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 3 | 26 |
| 27 | M Warnapura | SL | 30 | 62 | 48.4 | 8.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 23 |
| 28 | S Badrinath | IND | 39 | 87 | 44.8 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 16 |
| 29 | RP Singh | IND | 4 | 13 | 30.8 | -2.8 | 48 | 54 | 1 | 6.8 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 13 |
Runs (scored) | Balls (faced) | Strike rate | Bat-pts: Batting points | Bb: Balls bowled | Rc: Runs conceded | W: Wickets taken | Eco: Economy rate | 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 Soumya Hait work for Cranes Software International [Get Quote] [
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