T20Is were introduced to ramp up the game. The game observers felt that fast-paced action is the need of the hour. It was expected that sixes, boundaries will majorly dominate the game. But the narrative sort of fell off the radar especially at the start of the 2010 decade.
The new age T20I revolution:
It took England and West Indies, the two big boundary-hitting sides to reinvent the wheel. The turn of this decade has particularly laid the focus on strike rates. Batsmen are no longer expected to bat deep, but bat aggressively. There have been few batsmen who have always been on the attack.
We look at batsmen with the highest strike rates in the IPL (minimum: 1500 runs)
#5 Jos Buttler (SR: 149.70)
The newly appointed England’s limited-overs captain had a dream IPL this season. He broke David Warner’s 6-year record of scoring the second highest number of runs in a single season. Jos Buttler scored 863 runs comprising 4 centuries. He equalled Virat Kohli’s record of 4 centuries in a single season.
Buttler has always managed to score at a fair clip. He has amassed 2831 runs in 82 games striking at 149.70 at a mighty impressive average of 39.87.
#4 AB de Villiers (SR: 151.68)
There hasn’t been a more influential batsman in the IPL than AB de Villiers. He stroked his first IPL century as early as 2009 playing for Delhi Daredevils. But ABD came into his own in 2011 when he joined RCB. His free-flowing approach complemented the style of Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle. There wasn’t a more formidable trio than these three in the IPL. ABD now retired scored a whopping 5162 runs at a strike rate of 151.68 averaging 39.70.
#3 Glenn Maxwell (SR: 153.88)
He came into IPL prominence in 2013 when Mumbai Indians signed him for a whopping million dollars. Glenn Maxwell though became synonymous with the IPL in 2014 representing the Kings XI Punjab (Now: Punjab Kings). He smashed 552 runs in a season-changing performance. Maxwell almost single-handedly powered Punjab into the finals.
He kept continuing in the same vein despite mixed results. His strike rate was on the rise but he couldn’t match it up with consistency. Maxwell finally found a home at RCB in 2021. He has been their best batsman since. Maxwell has scored 2319 runs in 110 games. He has scored at a strike rate of 153.88.
#2 Virender Sehwag (SR: 155.27)
He is the only Indian name on this list. There is little surprise that Virender Sehwag features so highly on this list. He was someone who played Test cricket in the style of T20s long before the format came into existence. Sehwag played the IPL in the manner the tournament was envisioned.
He played with abandon, fearless, and provided gallops of entertainment. Sehwag scored 2728 runs in 104 games. But his USP was his strike rate, it stood at 155.27. It has been 7 years since, no Indian batsman has surpassed Sehwag yet.
#1 Andre Russell (SR: 177.88)
The two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, Andre Russell is a clear winner. He leads the pack by a huge distance. The six-hitting machine as he is known, Andre Russell rarely finds it difficult to strike it big. He has been the biggest impact player for KKR.
Russell has smashed 175 sixes in the IPL so far (1050 runs in just sixes!). He crossed the 2000-runs mark this season (2035). Russell’s highest strike rate record (177.88) might stand for a long time until someone as freaky as him turns up!
