The International League T20 has only been running since 2023, but it already has a settled ranking at the top of its run-scoring charts. Alex Hales has topped the list since the tournament’s first season and is still there after four editions, with Nicholas Pooran, Muhammad Waseem and James Vince forming a tight group just behind him.
This article breaks down exactly where each player stands, what their numbers actually mean, and how the picture changed after Desert Vipers won the 2025-26 title in January.
Most Runs in ILT20
Here is the list of top run scorers in ILT20 Leauge:
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Runs | Innings | Average | Strike Rate | Centuries | Fifties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Hales | Desert Vipers, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders | ~1,405 | 46 | — | 139.94 (career) | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Nicholas Pooran | MI Emirates | 1,277 | 39 | 45.60 | 146.44 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Muhammad Waseem | MI Emirates | 1,241 | 46 | — | 137.73 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | James Vince | Gulf Giants | ~1,239 | 33+ | — | — | 0 | 10 (tournament high) |
| 5 | Tom Banton | MI Emirates | 1,000+ | — | — | — | 2 | — |
| 6 | Tom Kohler-Cadmore | Sharjah Warriorz | ~1,000+ | — | — | 135.35 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | Rovman Powell | Dubai Capitals | 900 | 38 | 34.61 | 146.57 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Kieron Pollard | MI Emirates | 885 | 29 | — | — | 0 | — |
Figures reflect totals through the end of ILT20 Season 4 (concluded January 4, 2026), compiled from tournament records roundups and post-season tracking. Positions 4 through 8 are close enough that a single good innings in the next season could reshuffle the order, and readers wanting live numbers should check ESPNcricinfo’s Statsguru database for the current ILT20 aggregate list.
Why Alex Hales leads the all-time list
Hales has been the most consistent opening batter in ILT20 history, and it comes down to opportunity as much as class. He played the tournament’s first three seasons for Desert Vipers before moving to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for Season 4, which meant he had already banked 1,156 runs from 35 innings before the fourth edition even began, built on nine fifties and a century.
That head start matters in a league where seasons are short. ILT20 seasons run for around 34 matches across all six teams, so an individual batter typically gets somewhere between 10 and 15 innings per edition. Hales simply arrived at Season 4 with a three-season cushion nobody else could match, and mid-season reports had him past 200 runs again for his new franchise, which is consistent with his all-time tally settling close to 1,400 runs.
His method is straightforward power-hitting at the top of the order. A career strike rate close to 140 in ILT20 tells you he is not simply accumulating; he is scoring at a pace that regularly sets up totals rather than just occupying the crease. That blend of longevity and tempo is why he has stayed ahead of the field through four different seasons and two different franchises.
The chasing pack: Pooran, Waseem and Vince
Nicholas Pooran is the most efficient run scorer among the leading group. His average of 45.60 is well clear of the others near the top of the list, and it comes from a middle-order role where he is regularly required to finish innings rather than build them from ball one. A strike rate above 146 alongside that average is a difficult combination to produce consistently, and it explains why MI Emirates have reached three finals in four seasons with Pooran as captain.
Muhammad Waseem, the UAE international opener, has spent his entire ILT20 career with MI Emirates and is the most important home-grown name on this list. Beyond the runs, he is also the tournament’s leading fielder by catches, which says something about his all-round value to the franchise beyond his batting numbers.
James Vince built his tally the same way he built his England Twenty20 career: through anchoring innings rather than headline hitting. He holds the tournament record for most half-centuries, which fits a player whose value has always been getting starts and turning them into substantial contributions rather than chasing centuries. Vince captained Gulf Giants to the inaugural title in 2023, and his batting was central to that campaign.
Other notable names in the top ten
A handful of players sit just behind the top four and are worth knowing if you follow the league closely.
- Tom Banton has been one of the most destructive batters in ILT20, with two centuries to his name, more than any other player on this list, and a share of the tournament’s record partnership (198 with Andre Fletcher against Desert Vipers in Season 3).
- Tom Kohler-Cadmore has quietly accumulated runs for Sharjah Warriorz across every season, including an unbeaten 106 that remains his career-best ILT20 score.
- Rovman Powell combines a strong strike rate (146.57) with the tournament’s highest number of not-out innings among the group, a pattern consistent with his role finishing games for Dubai Capitals.
- Kieron Pollard, MI Emirates’ first captain, remains in the top ten despite having fewer innings than most of the others on the list, a reminder that he was influential in the league’s early identity even as younger, more frequently selected players have overtaken him in raw volume.
How Season 4 (2025-26) reshaped the list
Season 4 itself was not dominated by the established run-scoring leaders. Sam Curran finished as the tournament’s top run scorer for 2025-26 with 397 runs, well clear of the all-time leaders, while also playing a key role with the ball as Desert Vipers won their first title. That is a useful reminder that “most runs in a season” and “most runs of all time” are different lists, and a league leader in one category is not automatically near the top of the other.
For the career leaderboard, the effect of Season 4 was incremental rather than dramatic. Hales, Pooran and Waseem all added to totals they had built over the previous three seasons, and the gaps between second, third and fourth place tightened rather than a new name breaking into the top group.
That is typical of a league still in its early years: with only four seasons of data, a single good campaign can move a player up several places, but it takes sustained form across multiple editions to threaten the top spot.
Records worth knowing alongside the runs tally
A pure runs list does not tell the whole story of ILT20’s short history. A few other numbers add useful context:
- Fazalhaq Farooqi is the only bowler to reach 50 wickets in the competition, doing so during Season 3 for MI Emirates.
- The record partnership in ILT20 history is 198 runs, put together by Andre Fletcher and Tom Banton for MI Emirates against Desert Vipers in Season 3.
- Pooran holds the tournament record for most sixes and separately reached 10,000 career T20 runs during a Season 4 fixture against Sharjah Warriorz, underlining how much volume he has accumulated across leagues beyond the ILT20 specifically.
None of these records change who leads the all-time ILT20 run charts, but they help explain the shape of the competition: it is a league built around explosive middle-order finishers and top-order accumulators in roughly equal measure, rather than one dominated by a single batting style.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the all-time leading run scorer in ILT20?
Alex Hales, having led the run charts since the tournament’s very first season in 2023. He built his total across three seasons with Desert Vipers before adding to it with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Season 4.
How many runs does Alex Hales have in ILT20?
Hales had 1,156 runs from 35 innings heading into Season 4. Post-season trackers put his revised all-time total at roughly 1,400 runs after his 2025-26 campaign, though exact figures vary slightly by source.
Who is second on the all-time ILT20 run-scoring list?
Nicholas Pooran of MI Emirates, whose combination of a high average (45.60) and a fast scoring rate makes him the most efficient run scorer among the leading group, even though his total sits behind Hales.
Did anyone score more runs than Hales in the 2025-26 season alone?
Yes. Sam Curran topped the individual run charts for Season 4 with 397 runs, well ahead of any of the all-time leaders. Season-best totals and career totals are separate lists.
Who has scored the most centuries in ILT20?
Tom Banton has two centuries, the most among players on the all-time top-runs list, alongside a share of the tournament’s record partnership.
Final Word
Four seasons in, ILT20’s all-time run charts still have a settled look at the top, with Alex Hales holding a lead built on three years of consistent starts at Desert Vipers before he carried that form into a new franchise. What is more interesting is how tight the group behind him has become.
Pooran, Waseem and Vince are separated by a relatively small number of runs, and any one of them could realistically close the gap on Hales within a season or two if form and fitness align. For a league this young, that is exactly the kind of competitive picture you would expect, and it is worth revisiting this list after every future season rather than treating any single year’s numbers as fixed.
