Cricket
Who Has the Best Average in T20 Cricket? A Data-Driven Ranking
Compared to the Test and One-Day International formats, T20 cricket places a greater emphasis on batsmen maximising each ball they face. Each time a player steps up to the crease in the 20-over game, the pressure is on to keep their strike rate and scoring pace up, pressuring the bowler. Batsmen at the pinnacle are generally those with the highest T20 batting average, with Virat Kohli and Babar Azam among the highest rated stars. SportsBoom aims to determine which superstar stands at the top in terms of consistency, based on the statistical data and broader media consensus. For the purposes of this comparison of T20I batting legends, the batsmen featured on this elite list must have faced at least 50 innings to be counted.
Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan /Getty Images
SB Market Index: How We Evaluate T20 Cricket's Most Consistent Batsmen
This evaluation combines a statistical analysis of the batsmen’s career T20I batting average with expert and media perception to provide a comprehensive ranking, which is referred to as the SB Market Index
Industry Insights
This curated analysis from top 10 cricketing and sports media sources measures how prominently each player is featured in discussions of the ‘greatest T20I batsmen of all time’.
| Source Name | Sami Sohail | V Kohli | Mohammad Rizwan | Sohail Ahmed | Muhammad Tanveer | Babar Azam |
| ICC Official Player Rankings (current/historical high) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ESPNcricinfo – T20 XI of the Decade/Year | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wisden – ‘Modern T20 Greats’ feature | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sky Sports Cricket – ‘T20I GOAT Batsman’ debate | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cricbuzz – ‘Best T20I Players Ever’ feature | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Cricketer – Top 50 T20I Players list | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sportskeeda – ‘Greatest T20I Batsmen’ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reddit r/Cricket – ‘All-Time T20I XI’ Polls | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cricket Monthly – Impact Player Analysis | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| talkSPORT – ‘Top 10 T20I Batsmen’ countdown | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Mentions | 1 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
SB Score
This score is calculated based on each player's career T20I batting average (100% weightage, minimum 50 innings). The raw stats are used to calculate the final SB Score.
| Player | Innings | Batting Average | SB Score |
| Sami Sohail (MWI) | 57 | 50.00 | 1.000 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 117 | 48.69 | 0.974 |
| Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 93 | 47.41 | 0.948 |
| Sohail Ahmed (BHR) | 59 | 43.80 | 0.876 |
| Muhammad Tanveer (QAT) | 62 | 42.13 | 0.843 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 121 | 39.83 | 0.797 |
SB Market Index
| Rank | Player | SB Score | Industry Insights | SB Market Index |
| 1 | V Kohli (IND) | 0.974 | 10 | 8.195 |
| 2 | Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 0.948 | 10 | 8.190 |
| 3 | Babar Azam (PAK) | 0.797 | 9 | 7.359 |
| 4 | Sami Sohail (MWI) | 1.000 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 5 | Sohail Ahmed (BHR) | 0.876 | 1 | 0.975 |
| 6 | Muhammad Tanveer (QAT) | 0.843 | 1 | 0.969 |
The Kings of Consistency: Kohli and Rizwan
When listing the word ‘consistency’ in T20 cricket, the name Virat Kohli invariably comes into frame - and for good reason, given his unparalleled success.
The Indian legend is one of the most reliable batsmen to have graced the game, able to anchor the innings with supreme grace and a keen eye for scoring off practically any delivery.
Mohammad Rizwan is another master of consistency, with Pakistan still unable to fully fill the gap left by his recent omissions from the national 20-over squad.
With a batting average exceeding 47%, the wicketkeeper-batsman holds the record for the most runs in a calendar year in T20 internationals - netting 1,326 runs in just 26 innings.
Virat Kohli T20 average and Mohammad Rizwan T20 stats, combined with status as legends, have resulted in their superior ranking according to this model.
Virat Kohli of India /Getty Images
The Statistical Leader from an Emerging Nation: Sami Sohail
An interesting contender worth mentioning is Malawi’s Samil Sohail, a young all-rounder with a T20 batting average better than every name on this elite list.
His consistency in 20-over cricket has even been recognised by Guinness World Records, after scoring 725 runs in 22 innings during the 2023 calendar year.
Sohail certainly dominates Associate cricket batting records, having eclipsed Kohli’s average in T20Is at the age of just 21 after debuting at just 16 years old.
While he has topped the statistical rating, this is balanced against his lower Industry Insights as a player representing a team with little international presence.
However, the Pakistan-born Malawian’s achievements are no less commendable, earning him a place in the US Minor League Cricket side, the Chicago Tigers.
The Great Divide: Global Superstars vs. Statistical Prowess
A central theme of this analysis is the contrast between international powerhouses like Kohli, Rizwan and Babar Azam, and Associate nation stars who lead the statistical charts.
The globally recognised names have earned their stripes with many headline performances for their countries, with batting averages that serve to inspire the newer generations.
As already mentioned above, Malawi’s Sohail tops the SB Score, with Bahrain’s Sohail Ahmed and Qatar’s Muhammad Tanveer both having T20I batting averages of above 40.
While the distinction between the statistics and recognition make for an intriguing result in this model, the performances of these Associate nation names is worth mentioning.
Conclusion on T20I's Most Consistent Batsmen
Summarising this comparison of the top T20 batsmen by average, Virat Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan have emerged as the top two, through a combination of their consistency and status as reliable 20-over scorers.
Another Pakistan superstar, Babar Azam, finished in a respectable third in the SB Market Index, with his slightly lower statistical score balanced by his expert perception, which is favoured heavily in this model.
The final standings of Associate batsmen also lent an interesting twist to this analysis of cricket batting consistency T20, with each player on the list proving themselves capable of game-changing talent.
Bruce Douglas has more than 12 years of experience in local news media. He has worked at all levels of print and online publication, from crime and politics to photography, newspaper layout, proofreading, mentoring, sub-editing, and leading a newsroom. He played numerous sports at the school level and enjoys keeping up to date.