Scoring runs in World Cups is always special. It is the best thing a batter can do to his team.
T20 World Cups started in 2007, and since then, the tournament has seen various champions, with West Indies being the only team to win it twice.
Most importantly, many champion batters have contributed immensely to their teams, making their nation proud. We will discuss them in this article.
To date, Mahela Jayawardene is the most runs scorer in the tournament. The Sri Lankan batsman is the first player to aggregate more than 1000 runs in the World T20s. He has been part of the 5 World Cup Sri Lankan side in the shortest format.
This article will list the T20 World Cup tournaments’ top ten run-scorers.
If you want to know the editions-wise leading run-scores, check here.
Most Runs in T20 World Cups (Overall)
| PLAYERS | RUNS | INNINGS | AVERAGE | 100s/50s | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 1292 | 33 | 58.72 | 0/15 | 89* |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 1220 | 44 | 34.85 | 0/12 | 92 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 1016 | 31 | 39.07 | 1/6 | 100 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 1013 | 33 | 42.20 | 1/5 | 101* |
| David Warner (AUS) | 984 | 41 | 25.89 | 0/8 | 89* |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 965 | 31 | 34.46 | 2/7 | 117 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 897 | 34 | 30.93 | 0/6 | 96* |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 853 | 43 | 23.05 | 0/4 | 84 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 727 | 27 | 31.60 | 0/3 | 85 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 717 | 29 | 29.88 | 0/5 | 79* |
Key Stats
Virat Kohli has an average of 76.82 in ICC T20 World Cups, the highest average in T20 World Cup for any batsmen with more than 300 runs in the tournament.
319 runs scored by Virat in the 2014 edition is the highest any batsman has scored in a single edition. Check the top five here.
Nine centuries are scored in the tournament, with Chris Gayle being the only player to do it twice. Ten fifties by Virat is also the most by any player in the tournament history.
David Warner leads the list for most runs while chasing in T20 World Cups.
The top run-scorer, Jayawardene, has also faced the most number of balls in the World Cups. The Sri Lankan batter is also the first batsman to hit more than 100 fours and currently leads the list in the T20 World Cups, whereas Gayle leads the six-hitting list.
Brendon McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in 2012 is the highest individual score any batsman has scored in the World Cup tournaments. Find the top ten here.
Related: Most Runs against a Single Opponent in T20 WC
