New Delhi. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma may be teammates, but there has been an amazing competition between them. A race in which sometimes Virat is ahead and sometimes Rohit Sharma. The race to score the most runs in T20 International matches is like this. Earlier Rohit Sharma was ahead in this. Then Virat went ahead. Cricket history also saw such a date when these two players stood equal in the list of scoring most runs in T20 International matches. That means equal number of runs were registered against both their names. Virat Kohli seems to be leading in this race in 2024. If Virat performs as per his image in the India Afghanistan T20 series, then Rohit may be left further behind.
The world record for scoring most runs in T20 cricket is currently in the name of Virat Kohli. He has scored 4008 runs in 115 matches at an average of 52.73. His strike rate is 137.96 and highest score is 122* runs. Virat has scored 1 century and 37 half-centuries in his T20 International career. Virat is the only player in the world who has scored more than 1000 runs at an average of more than 50. From this, Virat’s continuity can be estimated. Virat is also the only batsman in the world to score more than 4000 T20I runs.
Rohit ahead of Virat in terms of centuries
Rohit Sharma is second only to Virat Kohli in terms of scoring most T20I runs. He has scored 3853 runs in 148 matches at an average of 31.32. Rohit’s strike rate in this format is 139.24, which is slightly more than Virat. Similarly, Rohit has also scored more centuries than Virat. He has scored 4 centuries and 29 half-centuries.
Virat-Rohit returned to T20 team after 15 months
It is clear that Rohit Sharma is currently 155 runs behind Virat Kohli. Now both Rohit and Virat will be seen playing against Afghanistan. In such a situation, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will take their runs forward. Yes, if Rohit plays one or two huge innings and Virat fails, then there may be a change in this list of most runs. However, the chances of this happening are slim. Both the players are returning to the T20 team after 15 months.
When Virat-Rohit came equal on 2633 runs
Cricket lovers know that Rohit Sharma played his first T20 match for India in 2007 itself. Whereas Virat Kohli had to wait till 2010 for this. Before Virat Kohli made his debut, Rohit Sharma had played 17 T20 matches and had scored 325 runs at an average of 36.11. Just a few years later, Virat left Rohit Sharma behind. Then came the date of 11th December 2019, when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had an equal score of 2633-2633 runs in T20 International cricket. The special thing is that Virat and Rohit were jointly number-1 in the list of highest run scorers that day. On January 7, 2020, Virat Kohli again went ahead in this race.
Babar Azam is challenging
After Rohit, only Pakistan’s Babar Azam is challenging Virat Kohli in terms of most T20I runs. Babar Azam has scored 3485 runs in 104 matches at an average of 41.48. However, Babar Azam’s strike rate (128.40) is much lower than Virat and Rohit. Babar Azam has recorded 3 centuries and 30 half-centuries in this format. Ireland’s Paul Stirling (3438) is also a little behind Babar Azam. Among the current cricketers, except Virat, Rohit, Babar and Sterling, not a single batsman has been able to score 3000 T20I runs.