Sanju Samson, whose career deserves a biography, is now getting into his own at the international level and carving a T20 legacy that is now filled with glorious moments and innings instead of only shouts of “potential” and “justice.”
Recently, the Kerala cricketer became only the 5th Indian batsman and 34th overall in the world to amass 9000 T20 runs. He achieved this feat in the IND vs AFG 3rd T20I, played on Thursday in Delhi.
Samson joined the list of elite Indian T20 batsmen to cross the 9000-run mark in T20 cricket; this list includes Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Suryakumar Yadav, and now Samson is part of it.
Kohli, who is retired from T20Is but plays in the IPL for RCB, is the leading run-scorer among Indian batsmen in T20 cricket with 14218 runs. He is followed by Rohit, who has aggregated 12531 runs, and like Kohli, Sharma is also retired from T20Is but features in the IPL.
The next on this list is Shikhar Dhawan with 9797 runs. The left-hander is retired from professional cricket. On no. 4 is India’s T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Suryakumar Yadav with 9729 runs. SKY was dropped from the T20I team earlier this year but plays domestic and IPL cricket.
Samson now also features here. He has piled up a little over 9000 runs in the shortest format, having played T20 cricket for Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, India, Kerala, and Rajasthan Royals in his career.
Most T20 runs by Indian batsmen:
- Virat Kohli – 14218 runs
- Rohit Sharma – 12531 runs
- Shikhar Dhawan – 9797 runs
- Suryakumar Yadav – 9729 runs
- Sanju Samson – 9001* runs
Sanju Samson asserts himself as first-choice opener again
Despite being the Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup 2026, where he reeled off three consecutive half-centuries in knockout matches, Samson’s place in the side has come under threat from young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who replaced Samson in England.
However, the management backed Samson in the T20I series against Afghanistan, and he returned to form with a match-winning fifty in the 2nd T20I and then began off briskly in the IND vs AFG 3rd T20I as well.
Samson, though, took the dropping in England humbly and acknowledged the form Sooryavanshi had in the IPL.
“You see, a 15-year-old boy has scored 700-800 runs. My Man of the Tournament award [at the 2026 World Cup] was before that [IPL]. After that he’s performed so well. He had to come in [Indian team] sooner than later. I didn’t perform in 2-3 games and he was in-form and we wanted to win games in that [England] series,” he had said after the IND vs AFG 2nd T20I.
“It is very understandable from a leadership [perspective]. I have been in this situation and I have taken tough calls as a captain for my IPL franchise.”
Who has scored most T20 runs?
Kieron Pollard currently holds the record for most runs in T20 cricket, with 14999 runs. However, Jos Buttler is expected to overtake Pollard soon, with the England opener sitting on 14970 runs as of now.
(Stats updated till September 17, 2026)
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
