IPL 2017: Chris Gayle becomes the first batsman to score 10000 T20 runs
West Indian opener Chris Gayle has become the first man in the history of T20 cricket to make 10000 runs in the format. The 37-year-old achieved the feat during the Indian Premier League against the Gujarat Lions at Rajkot on Tuesday by guiding a ball to third man off the bowling of Basil Thampi.
In a T20 career spanning 12 years, the Jamaican has played in 290 matches and represented as many as 19 domestic sides during that time span. Gayle has also made 18 centuries in the time period along with 60 half-centuries.
He was part of both the 2012 and the 2016 West Indies setup that won the World T20 in Sri Lanka and West Indies respectively. His individual score of 175 not out for the RCB against the Pune Warriors India in the 2013 IPL remains the highest score in the history of the format.
As the table below shows, he is way ahead of the rest of the pack. Brendon McCullum is second on the list with just over 7000 runs in 270 matches. David Warner and Kieron Pollard also feature in the Top 5.
Here’s the list of highest run-getters in the history of T20 cricket:
| No. | Name | Matches | Runs | Strike-Rate | Time Span |
| 1. | Chris Gayle | 290* | 10000* | 149.48* | 2005-2017* |
| 2. | Brendon McCullum | 271* | 7411* | 137.95* | 2005-2017* |
| 3. | Brad Hodge | 270 | 7338 | 131.27 | 2003-2017 |
| 4. | David Warner | 225* | 7011* | 143.90* | 2007-2017 |
| 5. | Kieron Pollard | 361* | 6967* | 151.48* | 2006-2017 |
| 6. | Shoaib Malik | 271 | 6909 | 123.44 | 2005-2017 |
| 7. | DR Smith | 288* | 6766* | 126.91 | 2006-2017 |
| 8. | Virat Kohli | 201* | 6575* | 132.90 | 2007-2017 |
| 9. | Suresh Raina | 248* | 6538* | 138.81* | 2006-2017 |
| 10. | Luke Wright | 266* | 6296* | 144.80* | 2004-2017 |