- Mathew Hayden – The former Australian opener was one of the most feared batsmen during his playing days. Famously known as “Haydos”, the powerful hitter finished as the highest run getter in the very first edition of the ICC T20 world cup in 2007. His batting style and approach is an example of how modern day batters should bat. In the inaugural edition of the tournament, the Aussie scored 265 runs in 6 matches with an average of 88.30 and maintained a strike rate of 144.80 throughout the tournament.
- Tillakaratne Dilshan – The former Sri-Lanka legend was capable of giving headaches to even the most prolific bowler during his peak. He will go down as one the greatest openers to ever play the game of cricket. The Sri Lankan opener was devastating with the bat and could play standard cricket strokes everywhere on the field. Dilshan finished the 2009 T20 world cup with 317 runs , a strike rate of 144.74, an average of 52, and the highest individual score of 96 versus West Indies in the Semi-finals. In addition, he played a significant role in Sri Lanka’s progress to the Finale, when they were defeated by Pakistan.
- Mahela Jayawardene – The former cricketing legend and 2012 T20 world cup winner, Mahela Jayawardene is the second Lankan batsman included in this list. He was a technically sound batsman and had a lot of patience within him that made him successful in every format of cricket. The former Sri-lanka Captain finished the 2010 T20 world cup scoring the most number of runs. He managed to get 302 runs with an average of 60.40 and a strike rate of 159.78. Jayawardene is also the highest run scorer in the entire history of T20 world cups.
- Shane Watson – The former Australian All-rounder had set a bar for the upcoming all rounders to come. He was equally effective with the ball as well as the bat. In 2012 ICC T20 world cup, Watson not only finished as the Golden bat winner but also became the man of the tournament. Watson scored 249 runs with an explosive strike rate of 150. He also picked up the second highest wickets in that tournament.
- Virat Kohli – The Indian ace when he retires will be put under the same bracket as former legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Alaistar Cook and many more. In terms of fitness and mentality there are very few players that can match the intensity of the 33-year-old. He is the only player to win 2 consecutive Man of the tournaments in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Virat Kohli managed to score 319 runs in six innings averaging 106.33 and maintained a decent strike rate of 129.15 in 2014 T20 world cup.
- Tamim Iqbal – At the top of the order, Tamim Iqbal has consistently produced excellent results for Bangladesh. At the 2016 World Cup in India, he demonstrated that. The left-hander had the most runs at season’s end and was awarded the “Golden Bat.” With an average and strike rate of 73.75 and 142.52, he scored 295 runs in six matches, including a century and a half-century.
- Babar Azam – The Pakistani opener has now become the joint fastest player to reach 3000 T20 runs. He is level with Virat Kohli as both of them took 81 innings to reach the feat. The 2021 T20 world in UAE saw Babar Azam win the golden bat by scoring 303 runs averaging 60.60 with a strike rate of 126.25 and he concludes the list of highest run scorers in each world cup campaign.
Also Read:- List of Man of the series for each T20 World cup from 2007-2021
