The T20 format has been dominated by a host of batters ever since the format’s inception. The proliferation of T20 leagues besides international T20s has enabled several batters to make a name for themselves in the format.
Here is a look at the leading run-scorers in T20 cricket:
Chris Gayle – 14562 runs
The behemoth of all T20 batters, Chris Gayle dominates the batting charts in T20s. In a career spanning 17 years from 2005 to 2022, Gayle has plundered a host of batting records. The Caribbean legend has amassed 14,562 runs in 455 matches. Gayle has struck 22 centuries in the format – the most among all batters. He also tops the six-hitting charts with 1056 maximums. Gayle is the quickest batter to reach 12,000 runs in the format and is the only player with 14,000-plus runs.
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Shoaib Malik – 13360 runs
Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik played his first T20 in 2005. 19 years on, Malik continues to play in the format. The 42-year-old was recently seen in action during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024. Malik has amassed 13360 runs in the format, second among all batters. Malik has struck 83 half-centuries in the format with a career-best of 95*. He averages 36.40 with a strike-rate above 127 across 542 T20s.
Kieron Pollard – 12900
Despite playing a chunk of his T20 career since debut in the middle and lower order, Kieron Pollard has amassed nearly 13000 runs in the T20 format. No one has played more T20s than Pollard’s 660 appearances. The West Indian powerhouse has clobbered 860 sixes, only second to Gayle, and incidentally more than the tally of fours hit in his career. Pollard is also one of the few batters to have struck six sixes in an over in T20Is.
Alex Hales – 12319
English opener Alex Hales has profiled a remarkable T20 career with 12000-plus T20 runs. Hales aggregated 12319 runs from 449 matches with a career-best of 104. He has crossed the century mark six times in his career besides 78 half-centuries and is on the verge of completing 500 T20 sixes (494).
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David Warner – 12065
Australia opener David Warner charted his way into international cricket through his swashbuckling prowess in T20 cricket. The dashing left-hander recently became the fifth batter to cross 12,000 runs, scaling the mark in just 368 innings, the quickest after Gayle. Warner stands second on the list of most fifty-plus scores in the format, with 109 such instances.
Virat Kohli – 11994
Star India batter Virat Kohli stands sixth on the all-time list. Kohli could become the second-fastest batter to reach 12,000 T20 runs during the IPL 2024 opener for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Chennai Super Kings. Kohli was the quickest to 11,000 T20 runs, having scaled the mark in only 353 matches. The 35-year-old has eight T20 hundreds, the most among all Indians, with a career-best knock of 122 not out. Kohli holds several T20 records and is the leading run-getter in T20Is (4037) and T20 World Cups (1141).
*Stats as of March 22, 2024.
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