Most runs as T20I captain in a calendar year: Rohit Sharma's record in sight for Shreyas Iyer but Babar Azam remains the benchmark
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Most runs as T20I captain in a calendar year: Rohit Sharma's record in sight for Shreyas Iyer but Babar Azam remains the benchmark originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- India captain Shreyas Iyer needs 18 runs in the third T20I to pass Rohit Sharma’s captaincy runs in a calendar year record.
- Babar Azam’s world record of 939 runs as T20I captain in 2021 remains safe.
- India next face New Zealand in the third T20I at Wellington on October 27.
Shreyas Iyer vs Rohit Sharma: Who has the most T20I runs as India captain in a single year?
The race for the most runs by a T20I captain in a calendar year has a new contender in Shreyas Iyer, who can go past Rohit Sharma’s mark for India on Saturday, although Babar Azam’s world record still looks well out of reach.
India will take on New Zealand in the third match of the five-match series at Hagley Oval in Wellington on October 27, and Iyer arrives at the ground with a chance to rewrite a piece of Indian cricket history.
Iyer took over the T20I captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav in June, and he has made good use of the role since then. He has scored 639 runs in 23 matches as skipper this year, which puts him within touching distance of the Indian benchmark.
Rohit scored 656 runs in 29 T20Is as captain in 2022, so Iyer needs only 18 more in Saturday’s game to move ahead of his predecessor and become the leading Indian run-getter in a single year as T20I captain.
It is worth noting that Iyer has reached this point in fewer matches than Rohit needed. He has played six fewer games than the former captain did in 2022, and that gives his numbers a healthy look, even though the record itself is still to be broken.
Who has scored the most runs in T20I as captain?
Rohit, who led India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, may soon lose his place in the Indian record books, but the overall list is a different matter.
Babar holds the world record for the most runs by a T20I captain in a calendar year, having scored 939 runs in 29 matches as Pakistan’s skipper in 2021. Japan’s Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming sits second with 860 runs in 20 T20Is as captain in 2024.
Iyer would need a very big haul over the rest of the year to challenge either of those figures, and the gap to Babar is still more than 300 runs.
PLAYERCOUNTRYMATCHESRUNSBEST SCOREAVERAGESTRIKE RATE10050YEARBabar AzamPakistan2993912237.56127.58192021Kendel Kadowaki-FlemingJapan20860109*50.58151.14162024Muhammad WaseemUAE2384910042.45158.39182024Nizakat KhanHong Kong287848135.63133.1052024Babar AzamPakistan26735110*31.95123.32152022Harry BrookEngland19690114*49.28189.04232026Haider ButtBahrain2268279*45.46129.65062024Muhammad WaseemUAE226698430.4139.08052025Muhammad WaseemUAE206648034.94167.67052023Rohit SharmaIndia296567224.29134.42032022Litton DasBangladesh256357627.6132.29052025Shreyas IyerIndia23639102*33.63150.00122026Salman Ali AghaPakistan3462563*26.04115.31052025Aqib IqbalAustria3662566*27.17122.54022025Andrew BalbirnieIreland2761775*23.73129.35042022Shai HopeWest Indies17601102*50.08152.53242026The India captain has started the New Zealand series in useful form. He came in at No. 4 in the opening match on Thursday and made 42 off 28 balls while the team chased a target of 226. India got home by four wickets, and Iyer’s quick innings played a clear part in keeping the chase on track.
A similar effort on Saturday would be enough to take him past Rohit’s figure, and with three more matches left in the series, he should have further chances if things don’t go his way in the second game.
Why Iyer’s numbers matter for India’s T20 plans?
Records are only part of the picture, but Iyer’s captaincy year deserves some attention because of how quickly he has moved to the top of the Indian list.
He was handed the job midway through the year, when the team was still adjusting after the World Cup triumph, and he has led by example with the bat. Scoring 639 runs while also handling the pressures of leadership is not an easy thing to do, and it speaks well of his temperament.
That said, it would be wise to keep the achievement in proportion. Rohit’s 656 came in 2022, a year in which India played a large number of T20Is, and Iyer’s total has been built in a similar workload.
The difference is that he has batted at No. 4, where the role often asks for rebuilding as well as hitting, and his strike rate in the chase on Thursday showed he can do both.
Babar’s 939 is a different level altogether, and it is unlikely to be threatened this year. The Pakistan batter’s run in 2021 was a rare stretch of consistency. If Iyer does get close to that figure, it will say as much about his franchise form as his international work.
For India, the key question is not whether Iyer breaks a record on Tuesday, but whether he keeps his place as the batting anchor of a young side. If he does that, the milestones will follow on their own.
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