The 8th edition of the ICC T20 World Cup commenced on the 16th of October at the Simonds Stadium in Geelong. On what was a double-header, we witnessed one of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history when Namibia defeated the Asian champions, Sri Lanka, in the opening Qualifier game of the tournament on Sunday. So the unpredictability of the T20 format has already started to show its effects in this edition of the World Cup.
T20 is a fast-moving game with lots of action every other delivery. So every player out in the park has to be on their toes, be it the batsman, bowler, or fielders. The batters need to have the ability to get going from the start and also should know how to pace particular innings. Those who understood how to balance both of these aspects have proved to be successful in this shortest format of the game in terms of run-scoring. The team that a batter or 2 scoring prolifically and consistently for them throughout the tournament reaches the final stages more often than not.
Here in this article, we will discuss who can be the top-5 run-getters in this 8th edition of the T20 World Cup taking place in Australia.
Mohammad Rizwan
The Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan is one of the likeliest candidates to top the run charts in this edition of the World Cup. Rizwan is the no.1 ranked ICC T20 batsman in the world and has been in fine form in the shortest form of the game for more than a year now. He has accumulated 2147 runs from 47 innings since 2021 in T20Is (the most in this period) at an incredible average of 65 and striking close to 130. He was the leading run-getter in the recent Asia Cup with 281 runs and mustered another 316 runs in Pakistan’s home series against England.
His fine form continued in the Tri-series, and it is safe to predict Mohammad Rizwan to be among the top-5 run-getters in this tournament.
Jos Buttler
England’s skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler is the 2nd candidate in the list who can top the batting charts. The powerful right-hander may have missed quite a few games in the lead-up to this tournament due to an injury, but he showed no signs of rustiness in the recent 3-match T20I series against Australia in Australia. Buttler made 150 runs in the series from 3 innings at an average of 75 and a staggering strike rate of 187.5, which clearly shows the kind of form he is in.
KL Rahul
India’s vice-captain for the tournament, KL Rahul, was regarded as one of the finest in this format not long ago. But like Buttler, Rahul is on a comeback trail from an injury, and his approach to the game has been a question mark even in the recent Asia Cup. And there won’t be a better stage than the World Cup to prove his critics wrong and return to what he does best, taking the attack to the opposition.
When on the song, there is no other better player to watch than KL Rahul, and India will hope that the opener finds his best form back at the mega event. Rahul has scored 2137 runs in T20Is for India and has been in fine form in the practice games preceding the World Cup.
Quinton de Kock
Another opener makes it to the list of possible top-5 run-getters in the upcoming World Cup. Quinton de Kock is one of the key batters for South Africa, and they hope that the keeper-batsman makes a truckload of runs at the top of the order. Quinton has scored over 2000 runs in this format for the Proteas but has not been in the best of forms heading into this tournament. Yet the conditions he would get in Australia, the fast and bouncy tracks, will be almost similar to the tracks he gets at home in South Africa.
So we can say, Quinton de Kock could be one of the top 5 run-getters in this T20 World Cup.
Devon Conway
Devon Conway, the Kiwi wicket-keeper batsman, has had a prolific start to his international across formats, and in T20Is, he has scored 951 runs till now in just 25 innings. He will soon become one of the fastest to reach the 1000-run mark in T20Is. The left-hander made 227 runs from 5 games in the recent tri-series involving Pakistan and Bangladesh. These stats state his hunger for runs and how he could be one of the possible candidates to be the highest run-getter in the 8th edition of the T20 World Cup.
