Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey
Top 5: Most runs in T20 World Cup history | Which player has the most runs in the history of the T20 World Cup?
With white-ball cricket becoming increasingly popular in the modern era, records can be expected to tumble on a regular basis in the years to come. Major tournaments come thick and fast nowadays, with there seemingly always a global gathering of some description to look forward to.
Most runs in T20 World Cups
Mahela Jayawardene – 1,016
The only man – at least so far – to have reached four figures, with the legendary former Sri Lanka captain having set a bar of individual brilliance at a height others are still trying to reach. He has one century and six 50s to his name, with only one duck recorded through 31 innings. Jayawardene was a model of consistency in every format of the game and plundered 26 sixes across his T20 World Cup outings, while nobody can claim to have bettered his haul of 111 fours.
Chris Gayle – 965
It comes as no surprise to find the ‘Universe Boss’ towards the top of a notable run-scoring chart, with the West Indies talisman having made a career out of dispatching opposition bowlers with apparent ease. He has two World Cup centuries and seven half-centuries on the most stunning of sporting CVs, with removing him from the crease becoming an almost impossible task at times. Nobody in the history of the T20 World Cup has hit more sixes than his tally of 63, while a strike rate of 142.75 is quite remarkable.
Tillakaratne Dilshan – 897
The second Sri Lankan legend on the list and the only other man, alongside compatriot Jayawardene, to have plundered more than 100 fours in outings on a T20 World Cup stage. He found the boundary rope with strokes along the deck or chipped over an advancing field on 101 occasions, while there was also enough power in his locker to register 20 sixes. A model of consistency throughout his career, Dilshan could always be relied upon to deliver and will rightly go down in history as an all-time great.
Rohit Sharma – 847
Rohit may not be the top-ranking star from India on a T20 World Cup run-scoring list for long, with an iconic countryman breathing down his neck, but his place in international cricketing folklore is safely secured. A big hitter who likes nothing more than firing the ball into row Z, fireworks are to be expected whenever he arrives in the middle.
He produced plenty of them on the grandest of white-ball stages, with 80 fours and 31 sixes highlighting how difficult he was for opponents to contain, while an average of 38.50 is more than useful in the shortest format of the game.
Virat Kohli – 845
A true superstar of the modern era and a man whose celebrity status now transcends his chosen profession, with Kohli becoming much more than a cricketer. A hero to millions in India, one of the most recognizable figures in sport boasts a stunning average of 76.81 at T20 World Cups and has scored more half-centuries (10) than any other player. Kohli boasts the somewhat unique ability of finding a way to score heavily regardless of the opposition and conditions that he finds himself operating in and against, with his game as much about panache as it is power.
Broken record in 2022?
Jayawardene’s standing in top spot could find itself under serious threat in the not-too-distant future, while the top five could start to look markedly different, with more history set made as the records books are rewritten and a new generation of talent takes center stage.
