T20 cricket is considered to be a batsman dominated game. IPL being played in India, its wickets are renowned to be batting friendly. Many big-hitting batsman feature in the IPL in abundance. International stars from all over the cricketing world have made this tournament a big hit and they flourish a huge amount of runs every season. In this article, we look at the leading run scorers in the history of IPL.
5. Suresh Raina (5318 IPL runs)
Suresh Raina is referred to as Mr. IPL by the fans. He is one of the most consistent players in history of the Indian Premier League and has been a big asset for the MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings. Suresh Raina has a total of 5318 runs in the 197 IPL matches at an average of 32.42 and a career strike rate of 136.04 with 37 fifties and a Century against Kings XI Punjab at Chennai in the 2013 IPL season. He has mostly represented the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, but was also led the Gujarat Lions team for two years in 2016 and 2017, as CSK were suspended for two seasons. Raina’s 87-run knock against Kings XI Punjab in the Qualifiers on IPL 2014 is still regarded as one of the most memorable innings of all time.
4. David Warner (5447 IPL runs)
David Warner is the only overseas player to feature in the list of top leading runs scorers in the Indian Premier League. On the back of 5447 runs at an average of 42.22 in 148 IPL matches, Warner has proved himself to be one of the deadliest openers in the history of the IPL. Warner has represented the Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He also led the Sunrisers Hyderabad side to their first and only IPL Championship in 2016. His explosive knock of 93* in the IPL 2016 Qualifiers against Gujarat Lions at Delhi helped his side to book a place in the finals that season, which they eventually won. Warner also holds the record for most fifties in the IPL, with 50 fifties and 4 Hundreds to his name. His first century (126 off 59) came against the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2017 at Hyderabad.
3. Rohit Sharma (5456 IPL runs)
The most successful skipper in the history of the Indian Premier League, Rohit Sharma, is third in the list of the leading runs scorers in the IPL. The Mumbai Indians skipper has been an exceptional leader for the franchise over the years.
5456 runs in 206 IPL matches at an average of 31.53 with 40 half-centuries and a hundred, proves why Rohit Sharma is considered to be a modern-day great. He scored his only IPL century (109*) against Kolkata Knight riders at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2012. Rohit has led the Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL Championships, the most by any franchise.
2. Shikhar Dhawan (5577 IPL runs)
Shikhar Dhawan has played for 5 different franchises in the Indian Premier League. From the Deccan Chargers to the Mumbai Indians to the Delhi Daredevils to the Sunrisers Hyderabad and now for Delhi Capitals, Dhawan has offered his best to all the franchises.
He has scored a total of 5577 runs in 183 games in his IPL career, which includes 2 centuries and 44 half-centuries. Dhawan has proved himself as a reliable top-order batsman in the Indian Premier League.
1. Virat Kohli (6069 IPL runs)
Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper tops the chart of the leading run scorers in the Indian Premier League. Kohli has gone from strength to strength with 6069 runs in 198 IPL matches at an average of 38.16.
He holds the record for the most runs in a single IPL season when he smashed 973 runs in 16 games in the IPL 2016. He also has the most centuries by an Indian player in the IPL (5 tons).