Top 10 boundary hitters who will light up T20 cricket in 2026
Since the inception of the Indian Premier League in 2008, franchise T20 cricket has grown rapidly and arguably surpassed its international counterpart, with more T20 leagues sprouting up in various cricket-playing nations around the world.
Today, the SA20, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Emirati International League T20 (ILT20), and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) are some of the most followed T20 leagues in the world after the IPL.
The T20 format needs a different kind of skillset than the longer formats, which demand patience, technique, and temperament for enduring success. T20 requires hard-hitting batting with high strike rates and bowlers who can impact the game in a handful of deliveries.
When it comes to batting, the format favours those who can improvise, clear the boundaries at will, and score over a strike rate of at least 130. Here, we present our pick of ten hard-hitting batters who will light up T20 cricket in 2026.
10. Rovman Powell
Rovman Powell is a massive hitter of the ball in characteristic Caribbean fashion and was one of the best players in the CPL last season, scoring at a high rate. The Jamaican played nine games for the Barbados Royals, scoring 241 runs at a rate of 183.97 and hitting 13 fours and 22 sixes.
In the IPL, Powell debuted with the Delhi Capitals in 2022 but he couldn’t showcase his hitting prowess right away. However, he is a consistent performer in the CPL and is currently also a part of the West Indies setup in the T20 format.
The 32-year-old’s six-hitting is incredible, as he can clear the ropes with considerable ease at even the biggest grounds in the world. Once he gets going, his runs will mostly arrive through boundaries and hardly from running between the wickets.
9. Phil Salt
The well-established Welsh opener played in several T20 leagues last season. In the IPL, he played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and helped them to a historic first title, which was also his second consecutive IPL title, having helped the Kolkata Knight Riders the year before. Back home, in The Hundred, he has represented Manchester Originals, while in the ILT20 he has played for the Desert Vipers and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
The right-handed England international starts hitting from the first ball, needing little time to settle on the pitch. For RCB last season, he scored 403 runs in 13 games with a huge strike rate of 175.98, hitting a total of 48 fours and 22 sixes and registering the fastest half-century for RCB in a play-off game (50 off 23).
There’s no reason to doubt that the 29-year-old can replicate his 2025 form next year. His ability to quickly get going will be needed in particular by RCB for their IPL title defence as well as the England national team at the T20 World Cup.
8. Urvil Patel
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a replacement for the injured Vansh Bedi ahead of the 2025 IPL season. On his IPL debut, he scored 31 off 11 balls against KKR, showing a glimpse of what he is capable of. Even though Patel only played three games for CSK, his strike rate of 212.50 was enough to prove that, if given more playing minutes, he could excel in the middle order for the Yellow Brigade and even act as a finisher.
The Gujarat batter also holds the record for the joint-fastest hundred in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, having scored 100 off just 28 balls in 2024 against Tripura. The 27-year-old remains active in the domestic circuit and last month marked his T20 captaincy debut for Gujarat’s opening game against Services with a swashbuckling 119 off just 31 balls, hitting 12 fours and 10 sixes along the way to make a chase of 183 look ordinary.
If CSK and MS Dhoni show their faith in him, then Patel could very well be one of the top performers in the IPL next season.
7. Dewald Brevis
Nicknamed “Baby AB” after South African legend AB de Villiers, famously one of the most explosive batters of the shorter format, Dewald Brevis is well on his way to realising his potential.
For CSK last IPL season, Brevis came in as a replacement for the injured Gurjapneet Singh and had an immediate impact, even though the team struggled as a whole. In six games, he accumulated 225 runs with a strike rate of 180, registering two half-centuries and striking 13 fours and 17 sixes.
The 22-year-old is a hard-hitting right-hander who has the ability to go long distances effortlessly. He can also improvise and has a wide range of shots in his arsenal. In the last SA20 season, he played 12 games for the Pretoria Capitals and scored 291 runs with a strike rate of 184.18, hitting 17 fours and 25 sixes. The South Africa international is definitely one of those players who can set the stage alight wherever they play.
6. Mitchell Owen
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Owen is one of the most fearsome strikers in the T20 format currently. Playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, the 24-year-old started as a middle-order batter before becoming an opener.
In the last BBL season, Owen played eight matches, scoring 333 runs at a strike rate of 226.5, hitting an incredible 22 fours and 31 sixes. He also participated in the PSL, where again he impressively struck at a rate of 192.45 in eight games, hitting five fours and 11 sixes. In Major League Cricket, he played for the Washington Freedom and accumulated 313 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 194.40, hitting 28 fours and 22 sixes. Owen’s performances haven’t gone unnoticed by the Australian selectors, and he has found a regular place in the T20I setup.
Owen isn’t just a hard-hitting batter; he is also a handy bowler capable of taking important wickets. This makes him a superb asset for any T20 franchise. Currently employed by the Punjab Kings in the IPL, if given a chance, he could soon establish himself as one of the hottest T20 prospects in the world.
5. Vaibhav Suryavanshi
14-year-old Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest centurion in Men’s T20 cricket when he smashed 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2025 IPL against Gujarat Titans, astounding one and all with his prodigious talent.
Hailing from Bihar, the talented opener is an absolutely unhinged player who keeps surprising those around him with his powerful hitting and stroke-play. In 7 matches that he played for the Rajasthan Royals, Suryavanshi amassed 252 runs with a strike-rate of 206.55, hitting 18 fours and 24 sixes – an unbelievable feat for someone so young.
Suryavanshi has also been part of the India A tours and performed exceptionally well in the domestic T20 tournaments. He has played 18 T20 games in the domestic setup so far, scoring 701 runs with a strike-rate of 204.37 along with 53 fours and 62 sixes.
It’s scary to think that he is just 14 years old right now and is already hitting proven and world-class bowlers to all ends of the park, imagine what he can do with a little more experience under his belt. Suryavanshi is without a doubt, one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from the T20 leagues and we are really excited to see how he performs in 2026.
4. Tim David
Australian Tim David is another power striker in the T20 format who is feared by one and all. The tall Australian is a middle order batter who generally finishes matches for his franchise and country. His brute strength enables him to clear boundaries with ease, no matter the size of the ground.
Playing in IPL last season, he was a pivotal player for RCB, scoring 187 runs in 12 games with a strike-rate of 185.14. He also smashed 16 fours and 14 sixes in those games. He also played for the Hobart Hurricanes in the 2024/25 BBL, scoring 254 runs in 11 games with a top strike-rate of 177.62 with 20 fours and 17 sixes. He also participated in CPL where he played 11 games for the Saint Lucia Kings and amassed 212 runs in 11 games with a strike-rate of 153.62, striking 11 fours and 17 sixes.
The explosive Aussie batter can take away the game from the opponent in a matter of minutes and since he has been consistent last season, there is no reason why he cannot assist RCB with his high-impact performances to another title run this season.
3. Romario Shepherd
Romario Shepherd displayed his incredible ball-hitting ability in the IPL last season when he smashed 33 runs in the 19th over against Delhi Capitals in the league stage, helping his side RCB reach a massive total of 213 – a game RCB went on to win.
Even though he didn’t get to bat much for RCB due to international duty and coming late down the order, Shepherd played another crucial innings against CSK where he smashed a score of 53 not out off 14 balls to prove his explosive talent. He had an unbelievable strike-rate of 291.67 in his IPL 2025 season – the highest for any batter in the IPL in 2025. He also played for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL where he amassed 197 runs in 12 games, hitting 12 fours and 16 sixes with a strike-rate of 177.47.
Shepherd is an allrounder who plays lower down the order and generally plays as a finisher for his team and can also take crucial wickets which is a massive advantage in the T20 format. His ability to hit fours and sixes at will and absolutely annihilate the opposition bowling at the death could certainly prove to be a masterstroke for his franchise in the upcoming season as well.
2. Nicholas Pooran
One of the most dangerous batters in the short-format, Nicholas Pooran is a batter no bowler wants to face. Pooran was in mind-blowing form in the 2025 IPL where he accumulated 524 runs in 14 games for the Lucknow Super Giants, smashing 45 fours and 40 sixes with a mammoth strike-rate of 196.25. Even though his franchise didn’t perform well overall, the Trinidadian middle-order wicketkeeper-batter looked like playing on some other planet. He played in several other leagues in 2025 like the CPL and Major League Cricket where again he maintained a high 150+ strike-rate, scoring most of his runs in boundaries.
Pooran is a clean-hitter who can easily send the ball over the boundary. It doesn’t matter who is in front of him, he takes the bowlers to the cleaners. With the 2026 T20 World Cup approaching, West Indies might look to him to provide match-winning scores. Without a doubt, the West Indian batter is again going to show his top-class hitting prowess to the world at the biggest stages of all in the coming year.
1. Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma is the current World No. 1 T20 batter in the ICC World rankings. The left-handed Indian opener has slowly become India’s most important player at the top of the order. Be it his IPL franchise, the Sunrisers Hyderabad or Team India, the southpaw provides the much-needed impetus at the start of the innings.
Sharma always had potential but he is slowly and surely realising it now. In the 2025 IPL season, he opened the innings for SRH in 14 games, scoring 439 runs, blasting 46 fours and 28 sixes with a strike-rate of 193.39. With the help of his explosive starts, SRH reached massive totals on several occasions. For Team India as well, the young Punjab batter has risen to the occasion in high-pressure games and also proved pivotal in the 2025 ICC T20 Asia Cup title win. His performances in the domestic set-up have been incredible as well. Sharma also holds a joint-record for the fastest century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, cracking a 100 in just 28 balls against Meghalaya in 2024.
With both the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2026 IPL season on the horizon, the opening batter is certainly going to be a key presence in the Indian as well as SRH lineup next year.
