The 2022 T20 World Cup is just weeks away, and in anticipation of the marquee competition in Australia, we rank our top ten T20 batters in the world in 2022.
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Babar Azam has the potential and ability to be number one on this list, but the only reason the Pakistan captain isn’t higher than tenth in our rankings is his intent and strike rate. Azam is one of the best anchors and wicket preservers in T20 cricket, but the opener strikes at just 130 in T20I cricket and is often guilty of hindering the Pakistan innings while batting first due to his low scoring rate.
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Based on potential, Rishabh Pant should be in the top five. However, his recent performances for team India mean that Pant slots in at no higher than number nine in our rankings. Pant doesn’t bat in his best position for team India or the Delhi Capitals – which is opening the innings – but has still produced some ridiculous numbers as a middle-order batter throughout his short career in the IPL.
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The man of the tournament and second highest run-scorer in the previous T20 World Cup, David Warner, finds himself at number eight on our list. Although Warner is entering the latter stages of his career, the Australian is still one of the most consistent run-getters in the world who has maintained an incredible strike rate despite operating as an anchor for Australia and Delhi Capitals.
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Glenn Maxwell is up there amongst some of the most hot-and-cold cricketers in the world, but when on song, there are very few players that can match the Australian’s devastating ability. Maxwell is one of the true 360-degree players in the mould of AB de Villiers, who can play every shot in the book, and his ability to take on the spinners and control the middle overs is unparalleled in T20 cricket.
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There are very few batters in world cricket that can hit a longer ball than Liam Livingstone. The Englishman is one of the most fearsome batters on the T20 circuit with his six-hitting ability and high intent. The Englishman still needs to perfect his batting tempo to have a greater impact on the game, but the middle-order batter has all the shots in his locker and is one of the most valuable T20 players in the world.
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For someone who emerged as primarily a Test batter centred around classical stroke-play, Aiden Markram’s reinvention and rise as a T20 powerhouse has been one of the most incredible stories of the past few years. Although Markram has a slight weakness against spin, the South African is one of the best ball-strikers against pace in world cricket, with an incredible six-hitting range against all lengths.
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There are obvious strike rate concerns with KL Rahul. However, the reason the Indian vice-captain is at number four in our list compared to Babar Azam at number ten is the opener has shown the ability to play at a fast tempo throughout the past five years in the IPL and for team India. Rahul has a healthy T20I strike rate of 140 and has also been the most consistent player in the IPL since 2018, scoring 590+ runs in each of the past five IPL seasons.
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Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a freak injury, but the English opener remains one of the most dangerous batters in T20 cricket. Bairstow’s game against spin and away spin, in particular, is a question mark but the Yorkshireman has one of the best powerplay records in T20 cricket with his clean bat-swing and ferocious hitting range.
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If this list was made in June, Jos Buttler would be atop the rankings following his record-breaking IPL season for the Rajasthan Royals. However, the new English white-ball captain has played very little T20 cricket since then, averaging just 14.5 in six matches against India and South Africa. Nevertheless, Buttler is the most complete T20 batter in the world. The opener has virtually no weakness against any type of bowling and has the flexibility and experience to dominate in all conditions and situations.
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Suryakumar Yadav does one of the hardest jobs in the world, score runs in the middle overs, with supreme ease, and the numbers he has put up in the last couple of years are mind-boggling. Yadav is the top-scorer in T20I cricket for the calendar year of 2022 and has an astonishing T20I strike rate of 173 at an average of nearly 40 in 30 innings.
Yadav has been dominating the IPL with the Mumbai Indians for the past few seasons, and the 32-year-old raised his level when he burst on the international stage with the Indian cricket team. The Mumbai batter is the true definition of a modern-day 360-degree player, and he could be one of the stars that dominates the T20 World Cup.
Shivaan Shah