Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji graphically depict the 50 most valuable players in groups of ten
The most valuable player index (MVPI) is calculated by adding together a player's batting, bowling and fielding index.
The batting index is based on a combination of runs scored and strike rate; the bowling index uses a combination of the number of wickets taken and the economy rate; and the fielding index is based on the number of catches taken and the fielder's participation in run-out dismissals.
Each of these three indices is expressed as a 'run equivalent'. So Tillakaratne Dilshan's all-round performance is equivalent to a pure batsman scoring 471 runs.
In this update, computed at the end of the England-West Indies match, we graphically depict the 50 most valuable players in groups of ten. Shahid Afridi is mostly 'red' because most of his MVPI is made up of bowling points; Sachin Tendulkar or Andrew Strauss are almost entirely 'blue' because their MVPI is made up mostly by batting points. Yuvraj Singh offers an equal mix or 'red' and 'blue'.
The 'green' streaks on top correspond to fielding points. That's why wicket-keepers like Kumar Sangakkara and Brad Haddin tend to have the largest 'green heads'.
For readers more comfortable with a convention table, we are presenting the usual list, with additional detail about player performance.
| Name | From | Runs | 6s | 4s | Strike rate | W | Eco rate | M | MVPI | |
| 1 | Shahid Afridi© | PAK | 63 | 1 | 8 | 137.0 | 16 | 3.5 | 5 | 597 |
| 2 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | SL | 283 | 1 | 38 | 101.4 | 4 | 3.1 | 5 | 471 |
| 3 | Virender Sehwag | IND | 327 | 7 | 38 | 125.3 | 0 | -- | 5 | 442 |
| 4 | Graeme Swann | ENG | 60 | 1 | 7 | 120.0 | 12 | 4.2 | 6 | 430 |
| 5 | AB de Villiers | SA | 318 | 7 | 27 | 111.2 | 0 | -- | 4 | 415 |
| 6 | Sachin Tendulkar | IND | 324 | 8 | 32 | 100.3 | 0 | -- | 5 | 384 |
| 7 | Andrew Strauss© | ENG | 329 | 3 | 34 | 97.3 | 0 | -- | 6 | 381 |
| 8 | Shane Watson | AUS | 256 | 7 | 26 | 98.5 | 2 | 4.4 | 5 | 370 |
| 9 | Kemar Roach | WI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 | 13 | 3.9 | 5 | 368 |
| 10 | Yuvraj Singh | IND | 171 | 1 | 19 | 82.6 | 7 | 5.1 | 5 | 351 |
| 11 | Tim Southee | NZ | 6 | 0 | 0 | 60.0 | 11 | 3.4 | 5 | 347 |
| 12 | Jonathan Trott | ENG | 336 | 0 | 26 | 82.6 | 0 | -- | 6 | 345 |
| 13 | Harvir Baidwan | CAN | 53 | 0 | 6 | 67.1 | 13 | 5.6 | 6 | 343 |
| 14 | Kevin O'Brien | IRE | 183 | 7 | 19 | 122.8 | 4 | 6.8 | 5 | 342 |
| 15 | Zaheer Khan | IND | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | 12 | 4.3 | 5 | 338 |
| 16 | Umar Gul | PAK | 36 | 1 | 3 | 124.1 | 10 | 4.2 | 5 | 332 |
| 17 | Darren Sammy © | WI | 51 | 3 | 4 | 121.4 | 8 | 4.4 | 5 | 329 |
| 18 | Kieron Pollard | WI | 178 | 11 | 14 | 161.8 | 1 | 4.9 | 5 | 323 |
| 19 | Kumar Sangakkara © | SL | 252 | 2 | 20 | 89.7 | 0 | -- | 5 | 322 |
| 20 | Sulieman Benn | WI | 13 | 0 | 1 | 56.5 | 12 | 4.7 | 5 | 320 |
| 21 | Ryan ten Doeschate | NED | 201 | 4 | 13 | 85.2 | 6 | 6.1 | 5 | 316 |
| 22 | Robin Peterson | SA | 21 | 1 | 2 | 91.3 | 10 | 4.4 | 5 | 316 |
| 23 | Imran Tahir | SA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | 11 | 3.8 | 3 | 316 |
| 24 | Mitchell Johnson | AUS | 19 | 0 | 3 | 190.0 | 9 | 3.7 | 5 | 312 |
| 25 | Jean-Paul Duminy | SA | 204 | 6 | 11 | 104.6 | 2 | 5.1 | 5 | 310 |
| 26 | Brendon McCullum | NZ | 225 | 5 | 25 | 95.3 | 0 | -- | 5 | 308 |
| 27 | Shakib Al Hasan © | BAN | 112 | 0 | 10 | 74.2 | 6 | 4.9 | 5 | 308 |
| 28 | Brad Haddin | AUS | 237 | 3 | 31 | 84.9 | 0 | -- | 5 | 304 |
| 29 | Tim Bresnan | ENG | 41 | 1 | 2 | 82.0 | 9 | 4.9 | 6 | 300 |
| 30 | Dale Steyn | SA | 20 | 0 | 3 | 64.5 | 10 | 4.1 | 5 | 300 |
| 31 | Ross Taylor | NZ | 212 | 12 | 15 | 111.6 | 0 | -- | 5 | 291 |
| 32 | Upul Tharanga | SL | 258 | 0 | 36 | 88.4 | 0 | -- | 5 | 278 |
| 33 | Shaun Tait | AUS | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 10 | 4.7 | 5 | 278 |
| 34 | Ray Price | ZIM | 37 | 0 | 4 | 62.7 | 7 | 3.5 | 5 | 271 |
| 35 | George Dockrell | IRE | 42 | 0 | 6 | 79.2 | 7 | 4.5 | 5 | 265 |
| 36 | Hashim Amla | SA | 248 | 1 | 18 | 87.0 | 0 | -- | 5 | 264 |
| 37 | John Mooney | IRE | 58 | 0 | 8 | 64.4 | 8 | 5.7 | 5 | 259 |
| 38 | Jacques Kallis | SA | 109 | 0 | 10 | 69.0 | 5 | 4.3 | 5 | 254 |
| 39 | Michael Clarke | AUS | 191 | 1 | 18 | 101.1 | 0 | 4.2 | 5 | 254 |
| 40 | Ashish Bagai © | CAN | 225 | 0 | 27 | 69.9 | 0 | -- | 6 | 247 |
| 41 | Jacob Oram | NZ | 25 | 3 | 1 | 277.8 | 7 | 4.2 | 3 | 246 |
| 42 | Brett Lee | AUS | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 8 | 4.3 | 5 | 236 |
| 43 | Ian Bell | ENG | 220 | 2 | 13 | 80.0 | 0 | -- | 6 | 233 |
| 44 | Muttiah Muralitharan | SL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 3.6 | 5 | 223 |
| 45 | Balaji Rao | CAN | 22 | 0 | 2 | 53.7 | 9 | 5.5 | 6 | 221 |
| 46 | Prosper Utseya | ZIM | 104 | 0 | 6 | 57.1 | 5 | 4.1 | 5 | 217 |
| 47 | Trent Johnston | IRE | 42 | 1 | 4 | 91.3 | 7 | 5.7 | 4 | 212 |
| 48 | Gautam Gambhir | IND | 197 | 0 | 20 | 90.4 | 0 | -- | 5 | 212 |
| 49 | Virat Kohli | IND | 155 | 2 | 14 | 94.5 | 0 | -- | 5 | 208 |
| 50 | Mohammad Hafeez | PAK | 106 | 1 | 14 | 79.1 | 4 | 4.7 | 5 | 208 |
One recent refrain among TV anchors and experts is that the World Cup can only be won by teams with 'dominating' captains, e.g., Imran Khan leading Pakistan in 1992. If we look for captains in our list, we find Shahid Afridi right on top, followed by Andrew Strauss, Darren Sammy, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan and Ashish Bagai (and Ross Taylor could be called a 'captain' too). The three surprise omissions from the top fifty are Graeme Smith (currently ranked 111), Ricky Ponting (134) and our own M S Dhoni (76)!