New Zealand's Martin Guptill has replaced India captain Rohit Sharma as the top run-scorer for the T20I category. The right-handed batter has earned 3,399 runs in T20Is, leading Sharma by 20 runs.
Guptill achieved the title during a T20I match against Scotland on Wednesday in Edinburgh. He earned 40 runs off 31 balls in that match, and New Zealand defeated the home team by 68 runs.
Prior to the match, Guptill already had 3,359 runs in T20Is under his belt. His strike rate during the match was 129.03.
Sharma, now number two, had only become the biggest run-scorer in T20Is in February this year. He broke teammate Virat Kohli's record during a match against Sri Lanka.
The India captain has collected 3,379 runs in 128 T20I matches, with an average of 32.18 and a strike rate of 139.62. He also collected 303 fours and 157 sixes. In addition, Sharma made four centuries and 26 half-centuries throughout his T20I career that started in 2007.
Since T20I is a newer cricket format, the records are still fairly low. Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who is also the current coach for the English team, was the first cricketer to cross 1,000-run and 2,000-run marks about a decade ago. Later, the 3,000-run mark was first achieved by Virat Kohli in 2021 during a match against England in Ahmedabad.
Guptill is now on top of the list, with Rohit and Kohli following close behind, having 3,379 and 3,308, respectively. Paul Stirling comes fourth with 2,894 T20I runs, while Australian skipper Aaron Finch is fifth with 2855 runs. In the top ten, Guptill is the only one who comes from New Zealand.
