The greatest T20 player: AB de Villiers or Rohit Sharma?
A stupendously talented batsman versus the most successful captain in the IPL
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-May-2020
Who will make it to the semi-finals? The player with more votes progresses.
Voting closes at 6.30am GMT on Monday, May 4.
de Villiers' brilliance lies not just in the runs he's scored but the manner of their accumulation; this format has never seen a player as stupendously talented as the South African. If T20 cricket is the format where batsmen are free to show the extent of their capabilities, de Villiers took what that really meant to a different level. No one with over 3000 runs has a better career strike rate at the IPL than his 151.23, and he has enjoyed personal success in T20 franchises around the world. His international career has been slightly more mixed, even if he's the second highest run-scorer for South Africa. A 28-ball 69 against England at the 2014 T20 World Cup set up a classic win; he led that side to the semi-finals. However, he hasn't quite won the T20 trophies you would expect for a player of his calibre, having played for sides that have historically struggled in that department. South Africa aside, he has turned out for the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, two famously unsuccessful teams in the IPL, and for the ill-fated Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
The most successful captain in the IPL, Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to four titles, and won a record five in all. He was the first Indian to score a T20 hundred, making a 45-ball 101 not out in a total of 145 for 5 way back in 2007, and was part of India's T20 World Cup success later the same year. His 2773 runs in T20Is are only surpassed by Virat Kohli, and his four hundreds are the most for any player. Sharma is also the third-highest run-getter in the IPL. A batsman who usually builds and then accelerates once in, Sharma has had success batting both at the top of the order and in the middle. He also has a hat-trick in the IPL, though it's been over five years since he's bowled in a T20 game.
This poll has ended. Here's the final result:
Keep track of the greatest T20 player bracket here.