T20 cricket has been going on for almost two decades now. Indians are so devoted to cricket that as soon as T20 matches begin, they get hyped up and start cheering for their favorite teams. From domestic leagues to international games, there has been a variety of formats in this sport. For these teams to reach their highest peak, their players play a crucial role. There have been several cricketers who have showcased their talents in different forms. Here are the 3 greatest T20 batsmen of all time.
Chris Gayle: The Universe Boss
Chris Gayle lived up to his billing as ‘The Universe Boss’ by becoming the first-ever batsman to hit a century in an official T20 International with an extraordinary 117 against South Africa in 2007. He has been consistent while playing massive innings.
He is undoubtedly the greatest batsman in T20 Cricket as-
- He has successfully scored over 10,000 runs in the format, and in his peak era, he has demolished bowlers as nobody has done to date.
- In 404 T20s, he averages 38.20 at a strike rate of 146.94.
- He has managed to win the World Cup Finals for West Indies in 2012 and 2016.
- In 2016, he scored a century against England in the group stages.
- His highest Test match score is 333, which he made against Sri Lanka at Galle.
In his entire T20 career, he has managed to score a total of 14,321 runs from 445 innings, which includes 22 centuries, and a world record score of 175 off only 66 balls for RCB in the 2013 IPL season.
Virat Kohli: The Run Machine
Virat Kohli, the India captain, has been consistent in all formats. When it comes to building an innings in a chase, nobody can match him. Kohli is recognized as one of the greatest batsmen of T20 because-
- He sits at the top of any major criteria- most runs in T20Is, the only batsman with more than 1000 runs to average above 50, most fifties, and most boundaries.
- He had played a total of 85 matches scoring 2928 runs at an extremely great average of 50.5.
- He is the quickest player to score 1000 runs in T20.
- He holds the highest batting average and most man of the match awards in T20 cricket.
- He surpassed his highest Test match score of 243 against Sri Lanka.
Kohli is surely one of the best players in all formats of the game. His T20 stats are astonishing, and he is considered one of the best batsmen of his era.
AB De Villiers: Mr. 360 or Superman
AB De Villiers is undoubtedly one of the most feared batsmen in the world and is termed as Mr.360 or Superman for his supreme human batting traits. He deserves to be in the top T20 batsmen of all time because-
- He has scored 4395 runs in the league at an average of around 42 and a strike rate of 159.68 with two hundreds and 37 fifties.
- South Africa had the second-best record in T20 cricket at the time of ABD’s career. They won 59 out of 97 matches between 2006 and 2017.
- He blasted an unbeaten 69 off only 28 deliveries in 2014 against England.
- Although South Africa never managed to win the World cup finals, ABD scored 239 runs in 9 matches at an average of 34.14 and strike rate of 170.71 across the two T20 tournaments in Bangladesh in 2014 and India in 2016.
He is known for his innovative shots and his ability to hit the same delivery at various spots in the field. He has now retired from international cricket, but he is still a crucial part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He will always be considered one of the best T20 batsmen of all time for South Africa.
Conclusion
T20 is for sure one of the most entertaining formats of cricket. The fast-paced format is quite appealing to a lot of individuals, and hence, it has been gaining immense popularity due to some of the greatest T20 batsmen of all time who have some unbelievable Test match scores.
