Most T20 runs in a calendar year

The shortest format of the game is definitely the most interesting and exciting format of the game right now. With a heap of T20 Internationals and events planned in the coming year and domestic leagues around the world, T20 cricket will be a centre of attraction for sure. Meanwhile, it is Mohammad Rizwan who has been the centre of attraction throughout the year in T20 cricket. Even, the Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman became the first batsman in the history of the game to score more than 2000 T20 runs in a calendar year. Thus, it gives us the opportunity to present you the players with the most T20 runs in a calendar year.

Read Also: How Important Is Babar Azam to the Pakistan National Cricket Team?

Here are the Top 5 players with most T20 runs in a calendar year -

#1 Mohammad Rizwan | 2004 T20 runs in 2021

As one of the tweets on Rizwan rightly said, 2021 can be called Rizwan Year, he kept on breaking a heap of records. With the bat at the top of the order, he was just the right partner for captain Babar Azam. His fearless batting would mean his team was off to a great start more often than not. In 2021, Rizwan scored a staggering 1326 runs for Pakistan in 29 T20I games. Meanwhile, he scored 500 runs in PSL 2021 to help his team Multan Sultan maiden PSL title. Overall, with 2004 runs in 2021, Mohammad Rizwan became the first-ever player to score more than 2000 T20 runs in a calendar year.

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#2 Babar Azam | 1746 T20 runs in 2021

Following Rizwan is his Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Considered as one of the most promising talents in the world right now, Babar forced pundits to make the "fab four" to "fab five". Though he has a long way to go, he definitely is the man for Pakistan to bring them the glory days. In 2021, the Pakistan captain scored 1746 T20 runs in just 43 matches with a strike rate of 130.7. After being the top scorer in PSL 2021, his dream run continued as he was also the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup 2021 as well. Not to forget he is also the No.1 ranked T20 batsman in the world as well.

Read Also: Top 8 run-scorers of T20 World Cup 2021

#3 Chris Gayle | 1665 T20 runs in 2015

Now it is quite impossible to make a T20 stats without naming the "Universe Boss" in it. The West Indian superstar is undoubtedly the biggest and most successful T20 batsman ever. A prime Chris Gayle was able to win any T20 game on his own. This is the exact thing that happened in 2015 when he kept on pouring runs for franchise teams and the West Indies team. Though in 2015 he played only two games for the Caribean team, he scored 167 runs in them. In addition, he scored 491 runs in IPL 2015 playing for RCB. The rest of the runs he scored playing in the PSL and Bangladesh Premier League. In Big Bash League 2015 Gayle also managed to score 260 runs in just 8 matches. Overall, Gayle's T20 runs in 2015 was a record then with 1665 runs in just 36 games.

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#4 Virat Kohli | 1614 T20 runs in 2016

The modern king of cricket is at number four on our list of players with the most T20 runs in a calendar year. You can say that the Virat Kohli era of batsmanship had already started before 2016. However, it was 2016 when he became more ruthless even in the shortest format of the game. In 2016, Kohli scored 641 T20 runs for team India in just 15 games with an average of 106.83. His form in the T20 World Cup 2016 also contributed to him being the "Player of the series" as well. Furthermore, he took his game to another level when he nearly became the first player to score 1000 runs in any season in IPL. However, he could only manage to score 973 runs in 16 games for RCB which is still a record in IPL cricket.

Read Also: Virat Kohli records as captain in ODIs

#5 Babar Azam | 1607 T20 runs in 2019

The No.1 ranked T20 batsman in the world is probably the best batsman in the last 3-4 years when it comes to T20I cricket. Along with international success, the Pakistani Captain kept on piling runs in the franchise league as well. His abundant talent and hunger for runs made him one of the best in business. Meanwhile, opening the inning also helped him to score more runs at his own pace as well. In 2019, Babar outran everyone by scoring 1607 runs in 39 games at a strike rate of 139.61. Among those runs, 335 came in Pakistan Super League at a strike rate of just 115.52.