It is often considered that one has to let go of consistency to achieve impact in T20 cricket. But there are certain batsmen who continue to defy this logic. These batsmen show that one can achieve consistency despite being aggressive at all costs. It is this quality that helps the other batters to express themselves freely. There have been several greats of the format who shined bright in the T20 World Cups.
We look at the Top 5 batters with the best batting averages:
[Minimum runs scored – 600]
#5 Shoaib Malik – 34
The veteran Pakistani batsman isn’t part of the squad this time around. There have been very few Pakistani batsmen better than Shoaib Malik in this format. He was the captain of the team in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Malik played a starring role in Pakistan’s campaign in the last edition too. He has amassed 646 runs in 34 games at an average of 34 coupled with a middling strike rate of 123.28.
#4 Chris Gayle – 34.46
There is hardly any T20I list of batsmen that doesn’t feature Chris Gayle. It was the universe boss who showed that one can marry both destruction and consistency. He played a key part in the West Indies winning two T20 World Cup titles. Gayle in fact is the first batter to hit a T20I century in the T20 World Cup in 2007. The big man scored 965 runs in 33 games at an average of 34.46. He scored these runs at a fantastic strike rate of 142.75.
#3 Rohit Sharma – 38.50
He is one of the few players who holds the distinction of playing all the editions of the T20 World Cup so far. Rohit Sharma’s unheralded cameos were a big part of India’s inaugural title triumph. He is the only batter in world cricket to smash 4 centuries in this format. Sharma is now tasked with the duty of leading the side in the 2022 T20 World Cup. He has scored 847 runs in 33 games at a brilliant average of 38.5. Sharma’s strike rate in T20 World Cups (131.52) is 10 points below his career strike rate overall.
#2 Mahela Jayawardene – 39.07
The former Sri Lankan skipper is the highest run-scorer in T20 World Cups history. Mahela Jayawardene switched on his best when it came to the big tournaments. He signed off on a big high in 2014 when Sri Lanka became the T20 World Cup champions. The only batsman to break the 1000 runs barrier in T20 World Cup so far, Jayawardene scored them at an average of 39.07. His strike rate of 134.74 is first rate too.
#1 Virat Kohli – 76.81
He is undoubtedly the best batsman in the tournament’s history. Virat Kohli is the only cricketer to have won two consecutive player of the tournament award across any ICC event. His golden run as a T20 batsman came in 2014 and 2016 when he kept breaking records for fun. He will have his eyes fixed on both the silverware and the 1,000-run mark in the 2022 edition. Kohli has scored 845 runs in just 21 games at an outstanding average of 76.81. His strike rate in T20 World Cups much like Sharma is clear 10 points lower.
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