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Former Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Aaron Finch named the franchise’s iconic bowler Sunil Narine as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of IPL 2026.
While naming Narine, Finch chose to ignore players like KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Abhishek Sharma. When Finch was asked to name his MVP of the tournament, he spoke to ESPN Cricinfo.
Complete list of players ignored by Aaron Finch
The host asked Aaron Finch to remain silent until he heard the name of the tournament’s MVP. Finch remained silent for many players before saying yes to Narine.
The following is the full list of players ruled out by Finch:
Karthik Tyagi
Ishaan Malinga
KL Rahul
Virat Kohli
Mohammed Shami
jamie overton
Prince Yadav
Abhishek Sharma
Ishan Kishan
Mohammad Siraj
jofra archer
“People couldn’t get over him at all” – Finch
Finch named Sunil Narine as MVP, saying that his longevity was the biggest factor in this selection. Although KKR could not make the last four, Sunil Narine was at his economic best even though the tournament was as batting-friendly as it is this year.
Finch said, “Yes. Sunil Narine for me. He has been brilliant with the ball. Nobody can take him away, even if people have been facing him for 15 years. He is brilliant.”
What is your MVP for? #IPl2026? PIC.TeawITeaTeaER.Cheym/D7mVAJade1wF2
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) mAthis 26, 2026
Sunil Narine in IPL 2026
In IPL 2026, despite the tournament being extremely batting-friendly, Narine has been at his economic best. He has taken 15 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 22.60 and economy of 6.64.
Sunil Narine is the second highest wicket taker of KKR in this IPL. His economy rate is the best of any bowler who has bowled at least 4 overs in this tournament and Narine has bowled 51 overs in the tournament.
Earlier this year, he also touched the figure of 200 wickets in IPL. Notably, all these wickets have come for Kolkata Knight Riders, making Sunil Narine the only player to take 200 IPL wickets for a single team. He is the third-highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 207 wickets and the most among all overseas players.
Although it was not seen in 2026, Narine had made occasional impacts with the bat before. Sunil Narine has a total of 1820 runs in the IPL, making him the first player to score 1,500 runs and 200 wickets in the IPL.
Finch rejected the performance of all the players in IPL 2026
The following is a summary of the performances of the players who were rejected by Finch for the crown. It was not immediately clear whether there were more names on the original list.
Karthik Tyagi (18 wickets, 27.67 average, 9.76 economy)
Ishan Malinga (20 wickets, 25.35 average, 9.33 economy)
KL Rahul (593 runs, 45.61 avg, 174.41 SR)
Virat Kohli (600 runs, 50 avg, 164.38 SR)
Mohammed Shami (12 wickets, 38.25 average, 9 economy)
Jamie Overton (14 wickets, 17.78 average, 8.89 economy)
Prince Yadav (16 wickets, 28.68 average, 8.82 economy)
Abhishek Sharma (563 runs, 40.21 avg, 204.72 SR)
Ishan Kishan (571 runs, 40.78 avg, 178.43 SR)
Mohammed Siraj (17 wickets, 28.47 average, 8.96 economy)
Joffra Archer (21 wickets, 21.71 average, 8.76 economy)
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