T20 cricket has changed an awful lot since its formal inception in 2003, in the English domestic circuit. Even if we look back at the inaugural World T20 in 2007, which is what the T20 World Cup was known as back in the day, the format has evolved from being perceived as somewhat of a gimmick, to what is now looked upon as serious business, with a fair bit of method behind all the madness that goes on in the field.
To elaborate further, 20 over cricket has gone from being a random and whimsical face-off between two teams having fun, to a sport which is extremely data-driven, where acute details such as match-ups and optimal entry points define broader gameplans.
The element that has matured the most in this period, perhaps, is the manner in which batters now approach the game. Anchor-type batters are quickly falling out of favour, and boundary-hitting rates have increased astronomically, which one could say was the expected natural evolution of the craft.
And so, with the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup less than a month away, we have curated a list of the ten most destructive batters amongst all twelve Test-playing nations in T20Is, in the months between the end of the previous T20 World Cup, to the 2nd of May, 2024.
The parameters set for this exercise are a minimum of 300 runs scored by a batter in the specified period, with a batting average in excess of 30, and a strike rate north of 160. Only the cream of the crop has survived, and surprisingly, it does not include Heinrich Klaasen.
Its crazy how Reeza Hendricks is the only South African batter to have fit our criteria for this list, and while seeing his name here might astonish a few, in 8 innings for South Africa since the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the opening batter has scored 330 runs at an average north of 41, and a strike rate of just over 160, with three half-centuries under his belt.
That is a significant step up from his career T20 average and strike rate of 35 and 127 odd, respectively, in 211 innings. In T20Is, that average slips down to 31.5, but the strike rate goes up to just under 131. His overall numbers are no match to his recent form for South Africa, which means that the Multan Sultan’s star is one to look out for in the USA and Caribbean a few weeks from now.
Extremely strong through the covers, Reeza is a potent hitter of the ball square of the wicket as well, and at age 34, he would want to fashion an explosive campaign with the bat, that could potentially help South Africa break their long-standing hoodoo in World Cup cricket.
Few batters in T20 cricket possess a record like Tim David’s. Born in Singapore, the lower middle order batter with a giant frame averages over 31 in all T20s, striking at a touch under 163, over a span of 209 innings.
In 36 T20I innings, his average goes up to north of 39, with his strike rate increasing by a few decimals to over 163, hinting that he plays better when he dons the Australian gold. Since the end of the previous T20 World Cup, David has scored 322 runs in 13 T20I innings, with an average of 46, and a strike rate of 174, which suggests that he has peaked as a power hitter, at age 28.
While Tim does struggle a bit when he faces spin, his hitting prowess vs pace is world-class, and given that he has remained not out 6 times out of 13 for Australia with one fifty-plus score since the previous T20 World Cup, you can count on the big man to play the role of a finisher to perfection, packing a punch, or eight.
It has been one hell of a year for the punchy South Australian, who played a pivotal role in Australia’s World Test Championship and ODI World Cup triumphs. That said, Travis Head is a bit of a newcomer to T20Is and will be featuring in his first-ever World Cup in the format.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad star has batted just 25 times in an Australian shirt and opened the batting in just 10 of those instances, 9 of which have come after the previous T20 World Cup. With Head probably being the most improved cricketer in recent times, it comes as no surprise that in these 9 innings, he has smashed 311 runs at an average of 34.6, striking at slightly over 166.
In stark comparison, he averages roughly 29 at a strike rate of 140 in all T20s, in a career which spans 115 innings. What makes his recent record even more spectacular is that in the 9 innings in question, he has crossed fifty just once, making him a reliable hitter up top, who is belligerent off both the front foot and back. Take a look at his batting highlights from the ongoing IPL, to get a clearer picture of his newfound wrath.
Keep an eye on the moustached menace from Adelaide this summer, who has a penchant for winning ICC trophies.
Having made his T20I debut all the way back in September 2012, the now 35-year-old Glenn Maxwell has played 106 games in the shortest format for Australia, with a batting average of 30, and a strike rate of over 155, which are ridiculously good numbers for someone who bats in the middle order.
Since the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup, however, Maxwell has batted just 8 times in T20Is but has amassed 309 runs at an average of 51.5, striking at nearly 197, with two hundreds to his name. No other batter in this list boasts a higher strike rate in the specified period than the burly Victorian.
Now at the twilight of his career, Maxwell might be playing his last ever T20 World Cup and will be keen on reverse sweeping his way in signature style to a second title for both himself and Australia. Expect him to put his best foot forward, especially when he is cramping.
The fourth and final Australian on our list is the Bison from Perth, who if fitness permits, will be leading his national team as captain, in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Mitchell Marsh is someone who has gone from being at the receiving end of online trolling to T20 World Cup hero, World Test Champion, two-time ODI World Cup winner, and most recently, Australian cricketer of the year in early 2024.
Now 32 years of age, Mitch made his T20I debut even before Maxwell, back in October 2011, but has batted in just 52 innings for Australia, scoring his runs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of over 135, which is a record marginally better than his overall numbers in T20 cricket.
Marsh was one of the main protagonists for Australia in their triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in 2021, batting at first drop, and in 8 innings since the end of the previous edition, he has racked up 346 runs for Australia, at a whopping average of over 69, with a strike rate exceeding 170, crossing fifty on three occasions. When he connects those golf swings down the ground, it is a sight unlike any other, making him a force to reckon with, when on song.
It goes without saying that the lanky allrounder from Western Australia is one of the most important cogs in his team, who would be eager to add to his already illustrious trophy cabinet, this time as skipper.
You might have expected to see a fair few English batters in this list, but the only one to have fulfilled the specified criteria is ultra-aggressive wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who is expected to open the innings for the defending champions in next month’s marquee event.
Still just 27 years of age, Salt has been around the franchise circuit for a while, with 230 innings in all T20s, averaging under 27, at a strike rate of 155. In 20 innings for England, however, that average goes up to 35.5, with his strike rate ballooning up to a smidgen under 166.
Since the end of the previous T20 World Cup, which Salt won as a member of Jos Buttler’s champion team, he has struck 394 runs in just 8 innings, at an average north of 56, and a strike rate slightly over 169.
The sort of opening batter who swings at almost everything, Salt can demolish any bowling attack on his day, and based on his recent numbers, we can conclude that he has never batted better in the shortest format. Two hundreds vs the West Indies last year are proof of that conclusion, and having had success in the Caribbean in the not-so-distant past, you can expect the right-handed slogger to go berserk come World Cup.
The only batter in this list who did not make it to his national team’s World Cup squad is the finisher supreme from India, Rinku Singh. When you look at his numbers, you will be left dumbfounded at why that is the case.
All of Rinku’s T20I experience has come post-2022 T20 World Cup, and in 11 innings, he has been dismissed just 4 times, whacking 356 runs in the process, at a ginormous average of 89, striking at over 176, which is the highest and second highest average and strike rate amongst all batters who made the cut for this piece, respectively.
The 26-year-old’s overall numbers also hold up, with an average north of 35 in all T20s, paired with a strike rate of over 148. His record for India however, is unheralded, with two half centuries to his name as well.
How Rinku the finisher has failed to make it to India’s squad for the big dance in June remains a mystery, because those numbers are by all means, extraordinary.
Another Indian batter who made his T20I debut in the aftermath of the previous T20 World Cup is the prodigious southpaw Yashasvi Jaiswal, who unlike Rinku has managed to book a seat on that plane to North America.
Jaiswal is most definitely going to be opening the batting for India in the flagship tournament, for in 16 T20I innings, he has accumulated 502 runs at an average north of 33, and a strike rate just under 162, with five fifty-plus scores, including a ton.
A technician by trade, Jaiswal has all the shots in the book, ranging from conventional cricket strokes to outright slogs, mixed with a hint of unorthodoxy. The impeccable range isn’t his only outstanding trait, as the 22-year-old can smash both pace and spin and is particularly effective against the latter, which could prove to be a real plus for India on slow Caribbean surfaces.
In 89 T20 innings overall, Yashasvi averages 31.4 with the bat and strikes at under 149, which confirms that he has come of age as a T20 batter in this last little while, but given his age, he can develop into so much more.
Watch out, world.
This list would be incomplete without a West Indian batter in it, and the only one who has forced his way in is the powerful middle-order batter Rovman Powell, who also happens to be the designated captain for the Men in Maroon, in what will be a T20 World Cup played on home soil.
Now 30 years of age, the Jamaican with brutish strength has batted in 61 T20I innings for the West Indies, with an average of roughly 26, and a strike rate of almost 145 – a step up from his overall average and strike rate in all T20s, which sit at under 25 and 140, respectively.
Since the end of the previous T20 World Cup, however, Rovman has been in the form of his life, having stockpiled 422 runs in 15 T20I innings, at an average of over 35, and a strike rate shooting north of 172.
A batter who demolishes pace, Rovman is no mug with the bat vs spin either, and favours the extra cover region in particular, hitting flat sixes for fun. With two half centuries to his name since the 2022 T20 World Cup, Powell is the only batter in this list who has hit more sixes (32) than fours (24) in the designated cycle, which lays testament to the notion that the West Indian skipper means business.
T20 cricket by design is a format in which high-impact batters are destined to fail fairly frequently, and scoring consistent runs at an alarmingly high rate is considered to be a feat of gigantic proportions. The best way to describe top-order Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav is that he is a freak of nature, given that he has accomplished exactly that.
His form in the IPL since returning from injury has been hot and cold, but in Indian colours, SKY has an otherworldly average and strike rate combination of 45.5 and 171.5, in 57 T20I innings.
In the 19 innings where he has batted for India since the end of the previous T20 World Cup, his strike rate has actually gone down to just over 161, but his average has shot up to 53.6, with a colossal 857 runs under his belt, including three hundreds and five fifties. His six tally stands at an unreal 51 in these 19 outings. Let that sink in.
SKY’s otherworldly T20I record is much like his batting style, which is basically a mutated version of 360-degree cricket, with a significant portion of his runs scored behind the wicket, via scoops, ramps, uppercuts, and the like.
Even his overall T20 record is fantastic, with an average of over 35 and a strike rate of 152.5 in a substantial 254 innings, which further confirms that he is no flash in the pan.
There should be no debate around the fact that the 33-year-old blitzkrieg of a batter is the most destructive T20I batter going into the upcoming World Cup by a country mile, who will be prepared to wreak havoc as part of India’s fabled top four.
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Excellent work
Had Pakistan treated Haris better, he would have definitely made it to the list.
ps : yeh dukh khatm ee ni hotaa reyyy 🥺
Well done man!! Very well written. I'll be making my nephew read this too!
Very well written with great description about Maxwell and SKY's exploits in T20Is
Rinku Singh
Great piece 👏
Have you ever analysed Virat Kohli's T20WC records ?
I am curious is there anyone else who betters him when stage is the highest.
So can you provide analysis on his performance in all T20WCs and someone else who competes him.
Thank you