IPL 2020: Five Batsmen Who Can Cross 5000-Run Mark This Season

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is drawing closer each day. IPL 2020 begins from March 29, and the inaugural match will be played between Mumbai Indian (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In the history of IPL, only two batsmen have crossed the 5000-run mark, first is the Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli, who has 5,412 runs to his name, and the other one being Suresh Raina, who has scored 5,368 runs in the cash-rich league.

In the upcoming season though, five more batsmen will have the opportunity to join Kohli and Raina in the illustrious 5000 IPL run club, and etch their names in the history books.

Here are five batsmen who can cross the 5000-run mark in IPL 2020:

5) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni will return to the field of cricket after a long break in IPL 2020. He has been on a sabbatical since the 2019 ODI World Cup, and he will make a much-anticipated return with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) yet again.

In the last two years in the IPL, the 37-year-old has scored runs for fun, and he will be looking to keep the run going.

In his career so far, Dhoni has played 170 matches in the IPL, scoring 4432 runs at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 137.85.

To reach the 5000 run mark, the veteran still needs 568 runs, although it looks like an uphill task.

One because he’s not played cricket since a long time, and two, because the highest number of runs Dhoni has ever scored in one season, is 455.

However, there’s still a slender chance, of the former Indian skipper reaching to the 5000 IPL run record.

4) Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle goes around with the nickname of ‘Universal Boss’ and his batting style completely justifies that.

The veteran West Indies player may have aged but he definitely hasn’t lost his touch. Gayle will play IPL 2020 for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and this year he can cross the 5000 run mark.

In his IPL career, the 40-year-old has played 124 matches, wherein he has scored 4484 runs with an average of 41.13 and a brilliant strike rate of 151 plus.

Gayle needs to score 516 runs, and he can well and truly reach the mammoth 5000 run mark in IPL.

3) Shikhar Dhawan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was at his usual best last year when he scored 521 runs to help carry Delhi Capitals (DC) in the playoffs.

Dhawan would like to carry forward from where he left off last season and reach the mouth-watering 5000 run record.

The 34-year-old began his career with Delhi and since then he has played 158 matches in the IPL.

In those innings, ‘Gabbar’ has 4579 runs to his name, at an average of 33.42 and a strike rate of 124.80.

Dhawan needs 421 runs to reach the 5000 run milestone, and the good thing for him is that since IPL 2016, he has scored more than 450 runs every year.

Perhaps, this looks like a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.

2) David Warner

Australia’s swashbuckling opener David Warner has the highest average among batsmen who have played 50 or more matches. He started his IPL career with Delhi but moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2014. Under Warner’s captaincy, the Sunrisers won their first IPL trophy in 2016.

In IPL 2017 and 2019, the 33-year-old won the orange cap, scoring the highest number of runs in the league. Warner has played 126 matches so far, scoring 4706 runs, at a handsome average of 43.17 and a strike rate of 142.39.

In order to reach 5000 IPL, runs, the Australian batsman still needs 294 runs, which by his lofty standards should be an easy feat.

Moreover, he has been handed the captaincy this season once again, by Sunrisers.

1) Rohit Sharma

By his lofty standards, Rohit Sharma has been quiet in the past few seasons in the IPL. Even then, under his captaincy, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have won four trophies in the last seven seasons.

Rohit began his IPl career with Deccan Chargers but joined Indians in 2011 and has been a mainstay in the team’s success ever since.

In his career so far, the 32-year-old has played 188 games, wherein he has amassed 4898 runs, at an average of 31.60 and a strike rate of 130.82.

To reach the legendary 5000 run figure, Rohit needs just 102 runs, and even though he will miss the first few games of IPL 2020 due to injury, the right-handed run machine will most likely join the iconic 5000 run club this year.