Virat Kohli IN, MS Dhoni OUT! Nicholas Pooran picks top 5 all-time T20 batters
Published - 01 Nov 2025, 03:36 PM | Updated - 01 Nov 2025, 03:41 PM
Former West Indian cricketer Nicholas Pooran revealed his list of the top five T20 batters of all time, featuring a mix of familiar names and a few unexpected choices. The left-handed batter excluded legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni despite his five IPL titles and a T20 World Cup win as captain.
Earlier this year, Pooran retired from international cricket at just 29. The wicketkeeper-batter made his international debut in a T20I against Pakistan in 2016 and later made his ODI debut in 2019. He retired as the nation’s most-capped player in T20Is. The batter was last seen in action during the CPL 2025 season.
Nicholas Pooran Picks Top 5 All-Time T20 Batters
Nicholas Pooran named two legendary West Indian cricketers, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, as his all-time T20 picks.
Gayle is the leading run-scorer in T20 cricket. He has amassed 14,562 runs in 463 matches at an average of over 36 with a strike rate of 144.75, including 22 centuries and 88 half-centuries. Gayle played a crucial role in helping the West Indies lift the T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016.
Pollard is the second-highest run-scorer in the format. The all-rounder has scored 14,237 runs in 720 matches and also taken 333 wickets with the ball. Pollard has been part of numerous title-winning teams in domestic leagues around the world.
He was also part of the West Indies’ 2012 World Cup triumph. The veteran cricketer is also the batting coach of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nicholas Pooran Picks Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers in His List
Nicholas Pooran picked England batter Jos Buttler, who has exceptional numbers in the format. Buttler has scored 13,507 runs in T20s in 473 outings at an average above 35 and a strike rate of 135.63. The wicketkeeper-batter also guided England to their second T20 World Cup title in 2022.
Pooran completed his top five with two Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) icons, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Kohli is among the leading run-scorers in T20Is with 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69. He is also the leading run-getter in the IPL, scoring 8,661 runs in 267 matches with eight hundreds.
The 36-year-old batter helped India win the 2024 T20 World Cup. He was also part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden IPL title win in 2025.
De Villiers holds the record for the most Player of the Match awards in IPL history (25). He is eighth among IPL run-scorers with 5,162 runs at a strike rate of 151.68. He, known as one of the most feared T20 batters of his era, dominated attacks across conditions.
Nicholas Pooran to Focus Entirely on Global T20 Leagues
Nicholas Pooran ended his international career as the West Indies’ most experienced T20I cricketer. He scored 2,275 runs in 106 matches at a strike rate of 136.39, including 13 half-centuries.
Pooran is set to focus entirely on global T20 leagues, where he has already built an impressive record. He has scored 9,166 runs in 398 T20 matches at a strike rate above 150, including three centuries and 56 half-centuries.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) retained him for a hefty ₹21 crore ahead of the 2025 season. He scored 524 runs in 14 games at an average of 43.66 and a blistering strike rate of 196.25, including five half-centuries.
Also read: 'This guy destroyed us' - Steve Waugh’s candid confession after meeting Harbhajan Singh
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Sai Vaitla is an author at Cricketaddictor and he has been working since September 2022. Sai Vaitla... Read more
