The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League is going in the full swing and is serving the fans with utmost entertainment with nail-biting finishes, thrilling contests, and high-scoring fixtures. In addition to the cut-throat competition, the T20 Championship is also making headlines owing to the stellar performances of a handful of senior players.
It was only a few days back that KL Rahul recorded his name in the record books by reaching a total of 4000 runs in the Indian Premier League. The batter achieved this feat on April 15 while playing against his former franchise Punjab Kings.
Batting first, the Lucknow Super Giants skipper racked up a big score of 74 runs off 56 balls to help his team score 159 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Though LSG recorded a defeat by two wickets, Rahul managed to make a place for himself in the elite list of batters.
Is the 31-year-old the fastest player to achieve this list? Let us take a look at five batters who reached the handsome milestone of 4000 IPL runs in the least number of innings.
#5 AB de Villiers – 131 innings
AB de Villiers, also fondly hailed as Mr. 360 or Superman by the fans, became the third overseas player during the 2019 season to reach the remarkable 4000 runs in the Indian Premier League. RCB was up against Mumbai Indians in their second match of IPL 2019 when the former South African skipper blasted not out 70 runs off just 41 balls to collect a total of 4032 runs in 143 IPL matches. The Challengers fell short of seven runs while chasing 188 runs, but AB made sure to establish his domination of the 22-yard pitch.
The 39-year-old kick-started his career in the T20 extravaganza in 2008 with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). In his three-season stint, he helped the team reach the playoffs twice. It was in 2011 that Royal Challengers Bangalore picked AB de Villiers in the auction and he formed a crucial part of the side until his retirement from the league in IPL 2021.
He finished his career with a whopping 5162 runs in a total of 184 IPL matches at an average of 39.71 and a strike rate of 151.69.
#4 Virat Kohli – 128 innings
Virat Kohli is the second-fastest Indian player to reach 4000 IPL runs.
It is impossible to not mention Virat Kohli while discussing any records, especially in the Indian Premier League. The batting maestro occupies the fourth place in the list as it took him a total of 128 innings to have 4000 IPL runs under his belt. It was in 2016 that Kohli registered himself as the first player in the history of the Indian Premier League to reach the milestone.
RCB were up against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) when Virat smashed 113 runs off just 50 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and eight maximums to reach the feat. Years later, the former Indian skipper is still going strong in the Indian Premier League.
He no longer leads the franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore but has been successful in retaining his place as the highest run-scorer in the history of the T20 Championship. In 228 IPL matches so far, the 34-year-old has accumulated 6844 runs at a good average of 36.6 and a strike rate of over 129. He also has 47 fifties and five hundred to his name.
#3 David Warner – 114 innings
The third player to feature in the list of scoring the fastest 4000 IPL runs is David Warner. The Australian stalwart was the first overseas player to reach the feat and it took him only 114 innings to do so. In IPL 2023, Warner captains Delhi Capitals but it was in IPL 2017 while leading Sunrisers Hyderabad that the opening batter scored his 4000th run in the franchise league.
SRH was up against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator game when Warner played a knock of 37 runs off 35 balls. It was a torrid performance by the skipper as his team lost by seven wickets. However, he was successful in achieving a magnificent personal milestone.
The Australian star kick-started his journey in the Indian Premier League in 2019 with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Following that, he has been a consistent performer in the T20 Championship and rules the run-scoring charts for overseas players. The 36-year-old Warner now has 6109 IPL runs to his credit in 167 matches at an average of over 42 and a strike rate of 139.63.
#2 Chris Gayle – 112 innings
The fastest overseas player to reach the milestone of 4000 runs in India’s T20 league is Chris Gayle. His entry into the T20 Championship was quite dramatic as he failed to attract any bid during the 2011 auction. However, a mid-season signing by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the same season changed his life for good.
Gayle continued his stint with RCB from 2011 to 2017 and scored plenty of runs for the team to help them churn out some good performance. However, it was in IPL 2019 while playing for Punjab Kings that Chris reached 4000 runs. Playing the first match of the season, the opening batter hammered 79 runs against Rajasthan Royals to take his team home by 14 runs.
The 43-year-old last played in the Indian Premier League in 2021 and has 4965 runs to his name in 142 matches at a strike rate of over 148 and an average of 39.72.
#1 KL Rahul – 105 innings
KL Rahul is the fastest batter to record 4000 runs in the Indian Premier League
With his 74-run knock against Punjab Kings, KL Rahul became the fastest batter in the history of the Indian Premier League to score 4000 runs. It took him only 105 innings to reach the elusive feat. The 31-year-old now has 4044 runs in 114 IPL matches at an average of 47.02 and a strike rate of over 135. He has hit 32 fifties and four hundred over the years.
Notably, Rahul also has the best batting average in the T20 Championship among all the batters who have scored a minimum of 200 runs. KL Rahul started his career in the league in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Since then, he has played for three other franchises namely Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants.
Over the past few years, the opening batter has established himself as one of the most consistent performers in the Indian Premier League. He also earned an orange cap for his exploits in IPL 2020.