Karanbir Singh smashes T20I record for most runs in calendar year; overtakes Suryakumar and Rizwan with 1488 runs

New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): In a landmark achievement for associate-nation cricket, Karanbir Singh of the Austria national cricket team has smashed the men's T20 International calendar-year runs record, overtaking the figures of Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan and India's Suryakumar Yadav.
The Austrian batter, on tour in Romania, entered the series needing 87 runs to surpass Rizwan's previous record of 1,326 runs, set in 2021, as reported by Wisden.
He produced a 57-run knock off 27 balls, followed by a 90-run innings from 46 deliveries in a double-header on October 18. The next day, he tacked on 74 (44 balls) and then 27 (12 balls) to take his tally to 1,488 runs in 32 innings -- setting the new benchmark.
He has currently scored 1,488 runs in 32 innings at a strike-rate of 175 with the help of 127 fours and a staggering 122 sixes -- nearly double the previous highest six-count for a calendar year by Suryakumar Yadav (68) in 2022.
The previous record-holders for the most runs in a men's T20I calendar year were Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 1,326 runs in 2021, and India's Suryakumar Yadav, who amassed 1,164 runs in 2022, according to Wisden.
In the fourth T20I at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground in Ilfov County, Karanbir's teammate Bilal Zalmai became the fourth player this year to surpass 1,000 runs. Bahrain's Fiaz Ahmed is closing in on the milestone, needing just 57 more runs to reach 1,000 for the calendar year. (ANI)