Ishan Kishan is India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in the ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe. After scoring 35 runs in the series opener on Thursday (July 23), the left-hander followed it up with
a brilliant 81 off 44 balls for the Shreyas Iyer-led side in the second T20I on Saturday (July 25).
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Ishan’s 81-run knock helped him take his tally to 783 T20I runs in 2026, moving him to third on the list of Indian batters with the most runs in a calendar year in T20Is.
Ishan, who was India’s second-highest run-scorer in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, has now surpassed Virat Kohli’s tally of 781 runs in 20 T20Is in 2022.
The record for the most runs by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20Is is held by former captain Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 1,164 runs in 31 matches in 2022.
Most runs for India in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suryakumar Yadav | 31 | 1164 | 117 | 46.56 | 187.43 | 2 | 9 | 106 | 68 | 2022 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 21 | 859 | 135 | 42.95 | 193.46 | 1 | 5 | 85 | 54 | 2025 |
| Ishan Kishan | 22 | 783 | 103 | 35.59 | 180.83 | 1 | 6 | 82 | 41 | 2026 |
| Virat Kohli | 20 | 781 | 122* | 55.78 | 138.23 | 1 | 8 | 66 | 26 | 2022 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 18 | 733 | 112* | 48.86 | 155.95 | 2 | 5 | 61 | 43 | 2023 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 18 | 689 | 92 | 40.52 | 147.22 | 0 | 6 | 70 | 25 | 2018 |
| Rohit Sharma | 29 | 656 | 72 | 24.29 | 134.42 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 32 | 2022 |
| Virat Kohli | 15 | 641 | 90* | 106.83 | 140.26 | 0 | 7 | 70 | 9 | 2016 |
| Hardik Pandya | 27 | 607 | 71* | 33.72 | 145.91 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 30 | 2022 |
| Rohit Sharma | 19 | 590 | 111* | 36.87 | 147.5 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 31 | 2018 |
He is followed by Abhishek Sharma, who amassed 859 runs in 21 T20Is for India in 2025.
The world record for the most runs in T20Is in a calendar year belongs to Austria’s Karanbir Singh, who scored 1,488 runs in 32 T20Is in 2025.
Most runs in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | STRIKE RATE | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karanbir Singh | Austria | 32 | 1488 | 115 | 174.85 | 2 | 13 | 127 | 122 | 2025 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 29 | 1326 | 104* | 134.89 | 1 | 12 | 119 | 42 | 2021 |
| Fiaz Ahmed | Bahrain | 40 | 1251 | 105* | 133.08 | 1 | 7 | 86 | 69 | 2025 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 31 | 1164 | 117 | 187.43 | 2 | 9 | 106 | 68 | 2022 |
| Prashant Kurup | Bahrain | 39 | 1037 | 73* | 114.45 | 0 | 6 | 114 | 27 | 2025 |
| Bilal Zalmai | Austria | 36 | 1008 | 79* | 155.07 | 0 | 9 | 103 | 57 | 2025 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 25 | 996 | 88* | 122.96 | 0 | 10 | 78 | 22 | 2022 |
| Asif Ali | Bahrain | 32 | 955 | 100* | 151.82 | 1 | 7 | 89 | 56 | 2025 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 29 | 939 | 122 | 127.58 | 1 | 9 | 99 | 17 | 2021 |
| Brian Bennett | Zimbabwe | 25 | 936 | 111 | 147.86 | 1 | 6 | 109 | 26 | 2025 |
| Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 26 | 909 | 100 | 160.03 | 1 | 8 | 65 | 55 | 2024 |
| Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 23 | 863 | 91 | 162.52 | 0 | 7 | 78 | 54 | 2023 |
| Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming | Japan | 20 | 860 | 109* | 151.14 | 1 | 6 | 67 | 43 | 2024 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 21 | 859 | 135 | 193.46 | 1 | 5 | 85 | 54 | 2025 |
| Anshuman Rath | Hong Kong | 21 | 814 | 100* | 135.44 | 1 | 5 | 84 | 18 | 2025 |
| Karanbir Singh | Austria | 19 | 812 | 164 | 190.16 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 71 | 2026 |
| Nizakat Khan | Hong Kong | 28 | 784 | 81 | 133.1 | 0 | 5 | 51 | 35 | 2024 |
| Ishan Kishan | India | 22 | 783 | 103 | 180.83 | 1 | 6 | 82 | 41 | 2026 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 20 | 781 | 122* | 138.23 | 1 | 8 | 66 | 26 | 2022 |
During his stay at the crease in the second T20I against Zimbabwe, Ishan Kishan smashed nine fours and two sixes. He stitched together a 66-run partnership off 42 balls for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer (25 off 20 balls) before adding 94 runs off 43 balls for the fourth wicket with Tilak Varma, who remained unbeaten on 60 off 29 balls.
Ishan was unfortunate to miss out on a well-deserved century. He was dismissed by Newman Nyamhuri off the first ball of the 18th over.
