David Warner and Faf du Plessis still going – most runs by overseas players in the IPL

David Warner bats in the IPL
David Warner is the leading run-scorer among non-Indian players in the history of the Indian Premier League.

With the 2025 IPL on the horizon, set to run from 21 March to 25 May, it’s worth taking a moment to look at the tournaments leading run scorers.

Quite naturally, the leading scorers are all from India, with Virat Kohli topping the list of most runs scored overall, with a whopping 8004 from 244 innings.

But in a world where the seven of the top ten run scorers in the tournament’s competition are Indian, who are the leading run scorers from abroad? Here’s a quick list at the top five IPL run scorers who are not Indian.

5. Shane Watson (Australia) – 3,874 IPL runs at an average of 30.99 from 141 innings

Overall Watson comes in at 17th on the list, but fifth for non-Indian players. One of the best all-rounders of all time Watson played for the Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He was active in IPL between 2008 and 2020, and he boasts a high score of 117 not out.

4. Faf du Plessis (South Africa) – 4,571 IPL runs at an average of 35.99 from 138 innings

Still going at 40 years old Faf du Plessis is a wily T20 campaigner who never seems to get old. At 13th on the overall list, he has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants.

Despite his prolific scoring achievements in the IPL, Du Plessis has never reached three figures. His highest score is 96.

Also read: Best bowling figures in an SA20 match

3. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 4,965 IPL runs at an average of 39.72 from 141 innings

Somewhat inevitably the ‘Universe King’ is on the list, as he almost always is when it comes to white-ball batting records. Eighth on the overall list the West Indies‘ Gayle enjoyed a prolific IPL career playing between 2009 and 2021 for four different sides.

Aside from his sheer weight of runs, Gayle boasts the highest score in IPL with a knock of 175 not out which he struck from just 66 balls in 2013.

2. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 5, 162 IPL runs at an average of 39.70 from 170 innings

The South Africa batsman was one of the most inventive stroke-players ever to feature at IPL. AB de Villiers could play classic cricket strokes as well as the next guy, but he also had the uncanny knack of hitting the ball where he had no right to.

Seventh on the overall list, De Villiers boasts a highest IPL score of 133 not out. He played IPL cricket between 2008 and 2021 and featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals.

1. David Warner (Australia) – 6,565 IPL runs at an average of 40.52 from 184 innings

The mercurial Australia opener sits top of the list of non-Indian IPL scorers with a massive 6565 runs. Playing for Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Warner’s highest score in the competition is 126. Still active Warner was in the IPL auction for 2025, but he went unsold and looks unlikely to add to his tally this year.

He has instead registered to play in the neighbouring Pakistan Super League. Warner doesn’t just boast a huge volume of IPL runs, he also has one of the highest averages in the competition at 40.52, the second highest average amongst the tournament’s top 20 run scorers – the only batsman with a higher average is KL Rahul with his spectacular average of 45.46.

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