The fastest player Babar Azam, the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, has scored the fastest 2000 runs in T20 international cricket, doing so in just 54 matches and 52 innings. In just four years and 230 days, he completed his 2000th T20 run.
While the West Indies have won three T20 World Cups and are the best in the world in the shortest format, the Men in Maroon lag in terms of individual accolades. One such example is the list of the fastest players in T20I cricket to reach 2000 runs the fastest player.
Top ten fastest players 2000 runs in T20 international cricket
Rank | Player | Country | Matches | Innings | Time |
1 | Babar Azam | Pakistan | 54 | 52 | 4 years 230 days |
2 | Virat Kohli | India | 60 | 56 | 8 years 21 days |
3 | Aaron Finch | Australia | 62 | 62 | 9 years 236 days |
4 | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 67 | 66 | 9 years 40 days |
5 | Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 70 | 68 | 8 years 347 days |
6 | Mohammad Shahzad | Afghanistan | 68 | 68 | 11 years 272 days |
7 | Paul Stirling | Ireland | 73 | 72 | 10 years 214 days |
8 | Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 74 | 72 | 10 years 30 days |
9 | David Warner | Australia | 73 | 73 | 10 years 294 days |
10 | Rohit Sharma | India | 84 | 77 | 10 years 292 days |
Read More: Top 5 Highest Partnership List and Score for IPL 2022
The fastest player Babar Azam has scored 2000 runs in 54 T20Is.
Babar Azam, Pakistan’s answer to their fledgling cricket legacy, has been the best batsman in T20 cricket for quite some time now. The right-handed batsman from Lahore made his T20 debut against England in Manchester in September 2016. Since then, the prolific run-scorer has taken only 52 innings to reach 2000 runs in this format, scoring one century and 26 half-centuries along the way. Azam became one of the fastest batsmen to reach 2000 T20I runs with a brilliant knock against Zimbabwe in April 2021, scoring 52 off 46 balls fastest player.
Virat Kohli has scored 2000 T20I runs in 60 matches.
Though Virat Kohli excels in limited overs cricket, few players have played T20 cricket as well as the king of cricket. Kohli, who made his debut in this format in June 2010, has 30 half-centuries at a strike rate of 137.66. Kohli scored his 2000th run in 56 innings against England in 2018, remaining unbeaten on 20 runs to help his team chase down 160 runs. The former Indian team captain is also the second most awarded man of the match in T20 international cricket fastest player.
Brendon McCullum has scored 2000 T20I runs in 67 matches.
Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s attacking opening batsman, is widely credited with redefining T20I cricket and making it one of the most well-known formats of the game. What distinguished Baz from his contemporaries was his absolute mindset with the bat, which was still novel in T20 cricket at the time. McCullum played 67 matches to reach his 2000 T20I runs, which came in a match against the Netherlands during the 2014 T20 World Cup, after making his T20I debut in 2005, two years before the ICC began organizing the T20 World Cup fastest player.
Martin Guptil amassed 2000 T20I runs in 70 games.
Martin Guptil is another New Zealand opener who excelled in the shortest format and became one of the fastest cricketers to reach 2000 runs in it. Guptil made his T20I debut in 2009, when the format was gaining popularity around the world, and quickly established himself as the opening batsman by scoring runs for fun. Guptil is one of only eight players in T20I history to have two centuries, and it took him only 68 innings to reach 2000 runs during Pakistan’s 2018 tour of New Zealand. Guptil scored 59 runs in that game, albeit in defeat.
Rohit Sharma has scored 2000 T20I runs in 84 matches.
Rohit Sharma, arguably one of the most consistent players in world cricket and one of the greatest batsmen to ever play the game, has been a joy to watch in T20 cricket. Rohit Sharma has had his ups and downs since making his T20I debut in the 2007 World Cup, eventually cementing his place in the Indian team a few years later. However, once he had a stable opening slot, the Indian player became the team’s go-to batsman in T20 cricket. He is the only cricketer with four T20I centuries, and the “Hitman” added to his 2000 T20I runs with a magnificent century against England in 2018 fastest player.
Read More: Tata Nexon EV Max: What You Need To Know
David Warner has scored 2000 runs in 73 T20Is.
While Aron Finch was instrumental in cementing Australia’s dominance, it is David Warner who wins in terms of consistency. The southpaw is known for its aggressive style of play in all three formats. Warner has scored one century and 22 fifties in this format since making his debut against South Africa in 2009. In 2019, he scored his 2000th run in T20Is against Sri Lanka, when his unbeaten 57 helped Australia win by seven wickets.