T20 cricket was once considered a slam-bang format, but nowadays, it’s regarded as a serious part of the sport.
In 2016, a lot of T20 internationals were played – most of them serving as preparation ahead of the ICC World T20 in March, won by the West Indies.
When one looks at the top run-scorers in T20Is this year, it will come as no surprise that India’s Virat Kohli is at the top.
The 28-year-old dominated every format of the game over the last twelve months, but his aura in T20’s was highly impressive.
In 15 matches, Kohli notched up 641 runs at a Don Bradman-esque average of 106.83 and a strike-rate of 140.26. He was named Player of the Tournament at the World T20 – the second successive time he has won the accolade.
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad was recently named as the ICC Associate/Affiliate Player of the Year and he comes in second place on the list, scoring 520 runs with a strike-rate of 152.94.
India’s Rohit Sharma, Bangladesh’s Sabbir Rahman and Australia’s Glenn Maxwell make up the rest of the top five.
Here, we look at the stats of the top five run-scorers.
| Batsman | Team | Matches | Runs | Average | SR | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | India | 15 | 641 | 106.83 | 140.26 | 90* |
| Mohammad Shahzad | Afghanistan | 15 | 520 | 37.14 | 140.26 | 118* |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 18 | 497 | 29.23 | 131.48 | 83 |
| Sabbir Rahman | Bangladesh | 16 | 463 | 35.61 | 127.54 | 80 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 11 | 435 | 48.33 | 174.69 | 145* |