4 players with most T20 runs in a calendar year

T20 cricket is all about scoring runs at a brisk pace. There have been several players who have not only managed to maintain the flow of scoring, but also been the epitome of consistency.

These players have not just cashed in on their starts but have made it big, single-handedly dominating their opponents with their invincible batting form.

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Players with most T20 runs in a calendar year

Four players have dominated the all-time list of the most T20 runs scored in a calendar year. Here is the list:

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#1 Mohammad Rizwan 2036 runs in 2021

Mohammad Rizwan is the first player to score more than 2000 T20 runs in a calendar year.

Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan tops the all-time list with the most T20 runs in a calendar year. The 29-year-old has scored 2036 runs across 45 innings at a strike rate of 131 in 2021.

This was the first instance in T20 cricket where a batter smashed more than 2000 runs in a single year.

Rizwan, alongside skipper Babar Azam, formed a potent opening combination for Pakistan at the top of the order, registering as many as four 150-run partnerships.

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#2 Babar Azam 1779 runs in 2021

Babar Azam is second on the list of most T20 runs in a calendar year.

Babar Azam is next on the list with the most T20 runs in a calendar year. The Pakistan skipper has scored 1779 runs in 43 innings at a strike rate of 131 in 2021.

The right-hander was the leading run-scorer in the recently concluded T20 World Cup with 303 runs in six innings at a fantastic average of 61.

His consistency at the top of the order played a pivotal role in Pakistan reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

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#3 Chris Gayle 1665 runs in 2015

Chris Gayle was the top T20 run-getter in 2015 with 1665 runs in 36 innings.

Chris Gayle scored 1665 runs across 36 innings in 2015 and is third on the list of all-time leading T20 run-getters in a calendar year.

The southpaw, who has a reputation for taking on the opposition bowlers right from the onset, achieved the feat at a breathtaking strike rate of 165.

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#4 Virat Kohli 1614 runs in 2016

Virat Kohli had a fantastic 2016 season scoring as many as four hundreds in T20 cricket

Former Indian T20I captain Virat Kohli scored 1614 runs in 29 innings in 2016 and had a memorable year with the bat. The right-hander scored four hundreds in the IPL that year, the most by any player in the history of the cash-rich T20 league.

Kohli amassed 973 runs across 16 IPL innings, which is also the all-time record for most runs in a single edition of the tournament.

Kohli's heroics helped India reach the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup before suffering a heart-breaking loss to eventual champions West Indies.

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#5 Babar Azam 1607 runs in 2019

Babar Azam is the only player to twice feature in the top five T20 run-getters list in a calendar year.

Babar Azam, who had 1607 T20 runs to his name in 2019, features twice in the list. Azam attained the feat in 39 innings at a strike rate of 140. The right-hander had a good time with the bat despite Pakistan winning just one of their nine T20Is that year.

The Pakistan captain represented Somerset in the Vitality Blast T20 in 2019 and topped the run-scoring charts with 578 runs in 13 innings at a superb strike rate of 149.