Batsmen fastest to 3000 runs in IPL

We are at the business end of the Indian Premier League 2016 and another couple of entrants have added their names to the 3000-run club in the all time run getters list for the IPL. Players from all across the world have featured in this prestigious tournament ever since its inception in 2008 and only a select few have been able to sustain their form over the years. Let’s look at the fastest players to have reached the 3000 runs in IPL.

9. MS Dhoni – 117 innings:

Arguably the most successful captain in the history of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni has shown his impeccable leadership skills with CSK throughout the 8 seasons of IPL, never failing to qualify for the top 4 and winning twice till 2016. But as a batsman, Dhoni has been a shadow of his former self for quite some time now. Though he boasts of a healthy career average of 38.54 thanks to his finishing prowess, runs have been hard to come by for a couple of years for the big-hitter. He couldn’t recreate his Chennai magic with the Rising Pune Supergiants neither with the bat nor his captaincy and the team has been knocked out of the tournament in the preliminary stage.

8. Robin Uthappa – 116 innings:

In the last 8 years, Robin Uthappa has donned various colors in the IPL. Starting with MI, Uthappa was traded to RCB & later on got picked up by Pune Warriors where he ended up as the highest run-getter. It was in 2014 when he finally settled with his opening partner and captain Gautam Gambhir at KKR, and the two have been one of the most prominent opening duos in the history of the tournament. A consistent performer, Uthappa has been a beast with the bat for KKR since the 2014 season where he was the Orange Cap holder with 660 runs.

Who are the players that have won the Orange Cap? – List of Orange cap holders in the IPL

7. Gautam Gambhir – 110 innings:

After being dropped from the national squad, Gautam Gambhir found his new home at Kolkata Knight Riders. Leading from the front, Gambhir has captained KKR since 2011 and led his side to glory twice in 2012 and 2014. He piled up 590 runs in 2012 for KKR and has been providing them with solid starts up front be it with Manvinder Bisla previously or Robin Uthappa in the last couple of seasons. Before being picked up by KKR for a record price in 2011 auctions, Gambhir went on terrorising the bowlers along with his Ranji and national team-mate, Virender Sehwag for the Delhi Daredevils in the first 3 seasons.

6. Virat Kohli – 110 innings:

With the pace Virat Kohli has been going in since 2011 it won’t be a surprise to see him breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s records. The IPL has seen the growth of this chubby Delhi boy at RCB under the reigns of Rahul Dravid initially into this full grown man and a run-machine. The man who will lead India for the coming years has been in spectacular form in 2016 and has already wrapped up over 1000 runs in T20s this year, and we aren’t even at the halfway mark yet! His stats in limited overs cricket in 2016 alone speak volumes about his tremendous talent and hard work. With 3 hundreds already in this season of IPL, Kohli is leading the run-scorers’ race and is definitely the red-hot favorite for Orange Cap.

5. Rohit Sharma – 109 innings:

Love him or hate him, he will keep scoring runs. Rohit Sharma, with all his “lazy elegance” has piled up almost 4000 runs in 140 odd matches in the IPL. Not many people remember, but Rohit was one of the key batsmen at the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, who lifted the IPL trophy in 2009 under inspirational captain Adam Gilchrist. Ever since Rohit took up Mumbai Indians captaincy in 2013, he has been crowned the champion twice in the IPL and MI once won the Champions League T20. Rohit has been one of the best captains in the history of the IPL. He has always been amongst the runs in the IPL and is one of the stalwarts of the marquee tournament.

4. AB de Villiers – 104 innings:

AB de Villiers has been right at the top of any list where you discuss batsmen in modern-day cricket. He has redefined the way batsmen approached the game. De Villiers has superb eyes, excellent reflexes and picks what the bowler is trying to do either in the head or off the hands. The perfect positions he gets himself in gives the bowlers a hard time to judge what would be a good line to bowl to him. He has played for many-a-franchises in the IPL but found home at Bangalore and has been a crucial member and the perfect partner to skipper Virat Kohli. AB de Villiers needed just 104 innings to cross over the 3000-run mark in the IPL.

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3. Suresh Raina – 103 innings:

Coming in at number 3, Suresh Raina was always the go-to man for captain Dhoni at CSK. With his ability to anchor the innings and hit the long ball when required, Raina has always been one of the hottest properties in the IPL. Apart from this, Raina can save you about 10-15 runs with his eccentric fielding every time. The captain for Gujarat Lions has accumulated 3985 runs at a tremendous strike rate of 140, and never missed a game in the history of IPL until recently when he flew to Holland to be with his wife on the birth of their first child. Raina can play well under pressure and has finished many games for CSK, he is and always will be a natural match-winner whichever side he turns up for.

2. David Warner – 94 innings:

Orange Cap holder in the 2015 season with 562 runs, this little man from down under definitely packs a punch. Feared by bowlers all around the world, this left-hander is one of the latest to entrants the 3000-run club of the IPL with a 30-ball-46 against the Daredevils. Warner leads the attack from the first ball and can anchor the innings as well at a quick pace which makes him a near perfect T20 batsman and the best thing about him is that he does it rather consistently. After spending 5 seasons with the Delhi Daredevils, he was signed by SRH in 2014 and has since been the rock at the top of Sunrisers’ batting order. He has been their most prolific run-scorer over the past two editions and is another contender for Orange Cap yet again in 2016.

1. Chris Gayle – 75 innings:

Who else you expected to be on top of the list of batsmen fastest to 3000 runs in IPL other than the ‘Universe Boss’? Chris Gayle has been setting the stage on fire since the beginning of T20 cricket. The leading six-hitter in T20s, this Jamaican batsman is all about power and brute force. After a couple of disappointing seasons at KKR, Gayle exploded at RCB scoring 608, 733 and 708 runs from 2011 to 2013 which also featured the highest individual score in T20s, 175 off just 66 balls against Pune Warriors. He hasn’t been at his best in this season but with the 49-run knock against KKR we could see glimpses of what’s in store.

Also check out – Top 10 Longest sixes of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

(All stats updated till 17th May 2016)