DALLAS: Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has replaced compatriot Chris Gayle as the leading scorer in T20 cricket.
The 39-year-old moved ahead of Gayle’s tally of 14,562 runs with a century for MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC).
Pollard now has 14,583 runs in a record 736 matches — the most in the limited-overs format.
The record, which had stood for a long time, could be changed quickly, with former England opener Alex Hales sitting 134 runs behind, followed by Jos Buttler, who is in fourth place, trailing by 212 runs.
Most runs in T20 cricket
|
Player |
Runs |
|---|---|
|
Kieron Pollard |
14,583 |
|
Chris Gayle |
14,562 |
|
Alex Hales |
14,449 |
|
Jos Buttler |
14,371 |
|
David Warner |
14,284 |
|
Virat Kohli |
14,218 |
Chris Gayle, who last played a competitive T20 match in 2022, remained the leading run scorer since 2014.
Kieron Pollard’s milestone came in a 30-run against Washington Freedom. His knock was overshadowed by Australia all-rounder Mitchell Owen’s unbeaten 155.*
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It is worth mentioning that Pollard is the only middle-order batter in the top six of the standings, with the other five openers or top-order batters.
After breaking the record, Pollard shared his thoughts on the achievement during he post match presentation.
“Surpassing Chris Gayle, someone we looked up to in the West Indies over a period of time, is special,” he said.
He praised the talismanic batter for his performances in all formats of the game while admitting that batting lower down the order comes with many challenges.
“He has done great things in all formats of cricket, so again, sorry Universe Boss, but we are both at the top there,” he added.
“Having said that, batting at No. 6 or 7 is very difficult. Somebody needs to do the dirty work, though, and while everyone rushes to bat at the top of the order, a cricket match involves 11 people, and everyone has a role to play,” he admitted.
“I guess my role over time was to finish matches, and I embraced that. Once you embrace the challenge and practice for it, good things come,” Pollard concluded.
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