T20 is such a fast format that achieving consistency in it is the most difficult job. We have seen many people who have all the shots in the book and have the ability to score big but the only thing lacking is consistency. The IPL is a 14-game tournament if you consider the league stage, so the question which you ask for a batsman is how many can one score in 14 T20 games?
Over the years we have seen that anything more than 500 is a really good season. But there are a few players who have crossed 600 in one season. There are a few captains who have done it in the IPL which is a commendable achievement because you are scoring runs and handling the team and their tactics. There is so much pressure and still, they have managed to score more than 600 runs. So, who are those captains who have done the multi-tasking and done well? Let’s have a look at the five captains who have achieved this.
5. Sachin Tendulkar – 2010
Sachin Tendulkar was the leading run-scorer and took Mumbai Indians to the Final in the 2010 IPL season. He scored 618 runs in 15 innings at an average of 47.53 and a strike-rate of 132.61 which included five fifties. We have to consider that this was towards the latter part of Tendulkar’s career so if he would have been at his peak it would have been a completely different ball game. Sachin Tendulkar is the first captain to score 600 runs in an IPL season.
4. KL Rahul – 2020
Sachin Tendulkar was the first to achieve this and KL Rahul is the latest to achieve this record. The right-handed classic opener scored 670 runs in 14 innings at an average of 55.83 and a strike-rate of 129.34 which included a magnificent century against RCB. In the first part of the tournament he was one of the few guys who were performing well for KXIP and it is difficult for a captain and batsman to keep your form intact when your team is not doing well but still, he managed to do it. Unfortunately, we won’t see KL Rahul in the playoffs but it was great fun while watching him in the league stage.
3. Kane Williamson – 2018
Kane Williamson was named the captain of the SRH side in the absence of David Warner and it was a big name to fill in. Kane Williamson was known as a classical batsman who wasn’t suited to the shortest format but he showed everyone what he was capable of. In 17 matches, he scored 735 runs at an average of 52.5 and a strike-rate of 142.44 with eight fifties to his name. The New Zealand skipper was absolutely fantastic as he led SRH to an IPL Final as well. Williamson just showed that he is too good a captain and a batsman even in the shortest format.
2. David Warner – 2016 & 2017
David Warner is one of the greats of the IPL and his record speaks for it. He has not only scored more than 600 runs once but he has done it thrice and twice as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2016, he scored 848 runs in 17 innings at an average of 60.57 and a strike-rate of 151.42. He was instrumental in SRH winning the title in 2016. He did it again in 2017 when he scored 641 runs in 14 innings at an average of 58.27 and a strike-rate of 141.81. These are astonishing numbers and that gives the idea of his greatness.
1. Virat Kohli – 2013 and 2016
Virat Kohli has led the Royal Challengers Bangalore for many years and he has scored a ton of runs for them. In 2013, while captaining the side, he scored 634 runs in 16 innings at an average 45.28 and a strike-rate of 138.73. But it was the year 2016 which changed everything for Virat Kohli. In IPL 2016, he scored 973 runs in 16 innings at an average of 81.08 and a strike-rate of 152.03. At one point is seemed as if he could cross 1000 runs in one IPL season which is insane! In both these seasons, RCB went on to play the Final which shows that the team does well if Captain Kohli does well.
