Most runs in a calendar year in T20s: Nicholas Pooran, Mohammad Rizwan lead the list

T20 cricket is a form of the game where strike rates are equally important as the runs scored. The rate of scoring in T20s has gone up over a period of time with batters paying more emphasis to the rate at which they score.

As a result, the teams depend more on collective cameos from many of their players rather than high scores from an individual player. With the bowlers also catching up on the new tricks to outfox batters in the shorter format, the willow wielders have gone all-out to help the team’s cause.

In this backdrop where high scores in T20s on a consistent basis is almost next to impossible, some batters have taken the art of power-hitting to the next level. They have made big runs consistently and that too at excellent strike rates.

In this article, we glance through the list of batters with the most runs in a calendar year in T20s.

Most runs in a calendar year in T20s: Know the players on the list

Nicholas Pooran | 2251 runs

Nicholas Pooran leads the list of batters with the most runs in a calendar year in T20s. Pooran has amassed 2251 runs from 67 innings in 2024 at an average of 45.02 and an impressive strike rate of 160.90.

Pooran has a tally of one hundred and 15 fifties in 2024 from his 68 visits to the crease. The southpaw was part of Team Lucknow in the Indian T20 League 2024 and amassed 499 runs from just 14 matches at an impressive average of 62.37 and a strike rate of 178.21.

Pooran continued his rich vein of form into the T20 World Cup 2024 at home and top-scored for the West Indies with 228 runs from seven matches at a strike rate of 146.15. Pooran, who plays for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, also went past the 400-run mark in the 2024 edition of the tournament.

Mohammad Rizwan | 2036 runs and 1817 runs

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is second on the list of batters with the most runs in a calendar year in T20s. Rizwan amassed 2036 runs from 48 matches in the year 2021 at an astonishing average of 56.55 and a strike rate of 132.03. During the year, he managed a total of 19 50-plus scores including a century.

In the T20 World Cup 2021, Rizwan was the third-highest run-getter with 281 runs from six matches at an average of 70.25 and guided Pakistan to the semi-finals of the competition.

Rizwan is also the only batter to appear twice in the top-five list of batters with the most runs in T20s in a single calendar year. He aggregated 1817 runs in 2022 at an average of 50.47 to be fifth on the list as well.

Alex Hales | 1946 runs

England’s Alex Hales comes next on the list with his tally of 1946 runs from 61 matches in 2022. He amassed 17 scores of fifty or above at a strike rate of 155.68 during this period and averaged 34.14.

Hales’ excellent run during the year saw England win their second T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia. The opener scored 212 runs from six matches in the tournament at an average of 42.40 and a strike rate of 147.22.

Hales’ unbeaten 86 off just 47 balls and his 170-run partnership with England skipper Jos Buttler resulted in a 10-wicket hammering of India in the semi-finals.

Jos Buttler | 1833 runs

Jos Buttler, with a tally of 1833 runs from 56 matches in the year 2023, has the fourth-highest aggregate of runs in T20s in a calendar year. The England opener, who had 17 fifty-plus scores to his name during that year, averaged 35.25 and struck at a rate of 141.65.

Buttler was the top-scorer in the inaugural edition of the SA20 in 2023 as he amassed 391 runs from 11 matches for Paarl Royals at an average of 39.10 and a strike rate of 132.54. Buttler also accumulated 300-plus runs for both Team Rajasthan in the Indian T20 League and the England cricket team during the same year.

Photo credit: Imago