Former West Indies cricketer Nicholas Pooran revealed his list of the top five T20 batsmen of all time, which includes a mix of familiar names and some unexpected choices. The left-handed batsman left out legendary wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni despite his five IPL titles and T20 World Cup win as captain.
Earlier this year, Pooran retired from international cricket at the age of just 29. The wicketkeeper-batsman made his international debut in a T20I against Pakistan in 2016 and later made his ODI debut in 2019. He retired as the country’s most capped player in T20Is. The batsman was last seen in action during the CPL 2025 season.
Nicholas Pooran picks the top 5 T20 batsmen of all time
Nicholas Pooran named two legendary West Indies cricketers, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard as his all-time T20 picks.
Gayle is the highest run scorer in T20 cricket. He has scored 14,562 runs in 463 matches at an average of over 36 and a strike rate of 144.75, which includes 22 centuries and 88 half-centuries. Gayle played an important role in helping West Indies win the T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016.
Pollard is the second highest run scorer in this format. This all-rounder has scored 14,237 runs in 720 matches and has also taken 333 wickets with the ball. Pollard has been a part of several title-winning teams in domestic leagues around the world.
He was also a part of West Indies’ 2012 World Cup victory. The veteran cricketer is also the batting coach of Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nicholas Pooran picks Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers in his list
Nicholas Pooran picked England batsman Jos Buttler, who has exceptional numbers in the format. Butler has scored 13,507 runs in 473 innings in T20 at an average above 35 and a strike rate of 135.63. The wicketkeeper-batsman also led England to their second T20 World Cup title in 2022.
Pooran completed his top five along with two Royal Challengers Bangalore (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-scorer in the IPL, with 8,661 runs in 267 matches with eight centuries.
The 36-year-old batsman helped India win the 2024 T20 World Cup. He was also a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s maiden IPL title win in 2025.
De Villiers holds the record for most Player of the Match awards (25) in IPL history. He is eighth among IPL run-scorers with 5,162 runs at a strike rate of 151.68. He was known as one of the most dangerous T20 batsmen of his era, dominating the attack in all conditions.
Nicholas Pooran will focus his entire attention on Global T20 League
Nicholas Pooran ended his international career as West Indies’ most experienced T20I cricketer. He scored 2,275 runs in 106 matches at a strike rate of 136.39, which included 13 half-centuries.
Pooran is set to focus solely on the 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 of more than 150, which includes three centuries and 56 half-centuries.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) retained him ahead of the 2025 season for a whopping sum of ₹21 crore. He scored 524 runs in 14 matches at an average of 43.66 and a blistering strike rate of 196.25, which included five half-centuries.
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