Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

Top 5 Best T20 Cricketers of All-Time | Best T20 Players in History | Who is the best T20 player ever? | Best T20 Player of all-time

As cricket has come to a halt due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, opinions have been rife on social media as to who the greatest T20 player of all-time is.

Specifically, ESPNCricinfo had a poll, where fans would vote in different contests between players, with the last-man-standing the one who would be crowned the Greatest T20 Player. However, ESPNCricinfo came in for criticism for reopening polls after Virat Kohli had lost out to Chris Gayle, after votes were apparently accepted after the closing time due to a technical glitch.

What this led to was further debate about who is the best T20 player in its 17-year history. Here, after much deliberation, I will go through my top five T20 cricketers of all-time, with reasoning applied to each pick. As with any such debate, excellent T20 players will just miss out, so they will get a special mention at the end. Here goes.

5. Keiron Pollard

T20 record: 501 games, 10,000 runs, avg. 30.86, SR 150.57, 49 50s, 1 100, 279 wickets, econ. 8.20

As of May 2020, Kieron Pollard is one of just two players to have cracked the 10,000-run mark in T20 cricket. What makes this feat all-the-more extraordinary is that Pollard predominantly plays as a middle-order batsman; a true testament to his ability to finish off an innings superbly.

Pollard is the most capped T20 cricketer with good reason. The value he offers with both bat and ball (279 wickets) is reason enough to want him in your side. However, when you add his freakish fielding and excellent leadership and knowledge of the game, Pollard is one of the most complete T20 players to have stepped out on a cricket field.

Indeed, with Pollard skipper of West Indies, you better watch out for them once again at the next World T20.

4. Lasith Malinga

T20 record: 295 matches, 390 wickets, avg. 19.69, econ. 7.08, 10 four-wicket hauls, 5 five-wicket hauls

The man, the legend, Lasith Malinga. Whenever you think of the perfect yorker, Malinga is one of the names who spring to mind.

But, it takes more than being able to bowl a yorker to become a great limited-overs specialist. It takes consistency and the ability to outdo batsmen, even when they think they know what’s coming. Malinga had that ability in spades, proven in the number of five-wicket hauls he has (5); a T20 record.

The Sri Lankan great has had a great ability right throughout his career to turn games for his team, particularly in the death overs. Even in his later years, with an example being the classic IPL 2019 Final, Malinga was able to recover from a poor third over to deliver a match-winning fourth that sealed the title for Mumbai.

3. Virat Kohli

T20 record: 281 matches, 8,900 runs, avg. 41.20, SR 134.56, 64 50s, 5 100s

Now, before any non-Indian fan has a go at me for including Virat Kohli (after what’s transpired with ESPNCricinfo), hear me out.

Kohli is the only batsman (with minimum 5,000 T20 runs) to average over 40 in T20 cricket. Sure, the average may not be as important in T20, but when you couple this with a strike rate of 134.56, Kohli is certainly one of the finest T20 players in the history of the game.

Morever, it isn’t only Kohli’s overall stats that are impressive. He has won Player of the Tournament on two occasions in World T20s, has an average in excess of 50 in T20Is and holds the record for the most runs in an IPL season (973). Also, while much is made of his record in knockouts of 50-over tournaments, his knockout record at the World T20 is incredible: 72 (44), 77 (58) and 89* (47).

So, while Kohli may have not played right around the world in T20 Leagues like others have, the impact he has had in the games he’s played, including on the international stage, has been a sight to behold.

2. AB de Villiers

T20 Record: 310 games, 8,657 runs, avg. 37.15, SR: 149.77, 62 50s, 4 100s

Personally, one of the key criteria for a player making a list such as this is their ability to create buzz and put bums on seats wherever they play in the world.

AB de Villiers is one of those freakishly talented cricketers who could score a 50-ball century one day, followed by batting 200 balls to try save a Test the next. On the T20 circuit, AB has had fans all over the world flocking in to witness his greatness, matched by his record that is highlighted by an incredible strike rate of 149.77 after 310 T20 games.

AB is every bowler’s nightmare. His sheer ability to turn good balls into ordinary ones and hit them anywhere he wants has led to the appropriate nickname of “Mr. 360”. Also, when you consider the number of times he has played a game-turning knock, it’d be an injustice to exclude him from this list. One of the all-time greats.

1. Chris Gayle

T20 record: 404 matches, 13,296 runs, avg 38.20, SR 146.94, 82 50s, 22 100s, 80 wickets, econ. 7.64

When you think of T20, Chris Gayle, the undisputed GOAT of T20 cricket, comes to mind.

The self-proclaimed “Universe Boss” has bossed things just about everywhere he has been. And that is a lot places, with the T20 superstar playing for 19 T20 franchises around the globe during his 404-game career.

But, what has made Gayle so great is his ability to produce memorable moments time-and-time again. So much is expected of him, yet he had the ability to hit those expectations for six in ways unimaginable. Over the course of his 404-game career, Gayle has perceived expectation as an opportunity to exceed them, rather than be burdened.

No player comes close to his 22 centuries (no other player has 10). He has 82 fifties (also the most in history) and is just 22 away from 1,000 sixes in the format (next best is 652 by Pollard). The best.

Special mentions

Of course, it is very difficult to leave out other players who are greats of T20 cricket.

• Andre Russell was a very difficult one to leave out. One of the most damaging batsmen in T20 history, Russell strikes fear into all bowlers (and crowds), to go with 291 wickets. Next one on the list.
• Dwayne Bravo is the highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket and deservedly makes an all-time T20 team. Another very tough choice.
• Brendon McCullum’s impact on the game cannot be understated; particularly his 158 in the first-ever IPL game.
• David Warner’s consistency is superb, underpinned by 75 T20 fifties and three IPL Orange Caps.
• Shoaib Malik has a positive impact on just about any team he plays in. His consistency and reliability makes him one of the greats.
• Shahid Afridi, player of the tournament in the first World T20, has been an incredible bowler in the format.
• Sunil Narine, one of the great T20 bowlers, certainly deserves a mention. If he is in your all-time XI, then good choice.
• Imran Tahir (365) and Shakib Al Hasan (354) round-out the top five wicket-takers in T20s, with Rashid Khan fast approaching (296).
• Luke Wright was an outstanding T20 cricketer, with 40 fifties and seven centuries.

So, there are my top five T20 players in history. Are there any you agree/disagree with? Be sure to have your say.

Thanks for reading!

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