Nos. 22-20: James Vince, Brendon McCullum, Imran Tahir

James Vince is in the top ten of all-time T20 run-scorers, with over 11,000 runs © Getty Images

No. 22, James Vince

by Matt Roller

Vince could never quite shake his reputation as a player of style over substance in international cricket, but few can match his record in T20 leagues. He has won titles in the Blast, the Hundred, the BBL and the ILT20, and is the only player to make this Cricket Monthly list despite never having featured in the IPL.

Vince was 19 when he won his first T20 title, having broken into a young Hampshire side. They won the Blast again two years later and were regulars at Finals Day. He has churned out runs for his boyhood club ever since, under the lights in Southampton, becoming the Blast all-time leading run-scorer, and captained them to a record-equalling third title in 2022.

Nobody has scored more runs than Vince across the first four seasons of the Hundred, and he has twice led Southern Brave - based at Hampshire's Utilita Bowl - to the final at Lord's, winning the 2021 title. Across England's two major short-form leagues, only Alex Hales can compare on both individual record and trophy count.

It is testament to Vince's ability that he has formed long-term associations with several teams even in the fickle world of franchise cricket. He has spent seven seasons in a row with Sydney Sixers, winning back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021; has captained Gulf Giants since the ILT20's inception, including to the inaugural trophy; and will return to Karachi Kings in the PSL this year.

Vince T20 factfile Matches: 402

402 Runs: 11,184

11,184 Strike rate: 135.32

135.32 PotM awards: 32

32 Titles: 8

8 Standout stat: Three of the four highest aggregates in a season of the Blast belong to Vince - 710 (2015), 678 (2022), and 670 (2023)

In a world of detailed preparation and data analysis, Vince is a rare commodity as a batter without a clear weakness: he averages at least 30 and has a strike rate of at least 130 against every main bowler type, with a near-identical record against seam and spin. And while he might not bowl or keep wicket, his sharp reading of the game and calmness under pressure means he contributes plenty as a leader.

Career high: It is tough to beat his title-winning 95 in the 2021 BBL for Sixers, but Vince's long association with Hampshire means the 2022 Blast final pips it. His ice-cold captaincy in the mayhem around him helped clinch a record-equalling third Blast title - a fitting culmination of his 678-run season.

Not so mellow in yellow: McCullum's most productive IPL seasons were for Chennai Super Kings. He also turned out for four other franchises in the league © BCCI

No. 21, Brendon McCullum

by Andrew Fidel Fernando

The very first six of the very first IPL came off the outside edge of McCullum's bat, off the bowling of Zaheer Khan, who had, technically speaking, prompted a false shot. But the ball sailed way over deep third's head. McCullum went on to crash 158 not out off 73 balls at the Chinnaswamy, giving what already looked dead set to become one of cricket's showpiece annual events the most spectacular possible start.

The moment spoke to one of the maxims of McCullum's career: even if you're taking a big risk, if you commit to it hard enough, things tend to work out. It also spoke to his cricketing strengths. That bat had fat edges and serious heft for a man of McCullum's height, but given his upper-body power, and other genetic gifts, he could still generate ridiculous bat speed with it. He was also exceptionally co-ordinated, frequently making better contact with deliveries than his head or body position might have indicated.

Though it would often be said of McCullum over the following years that he was a made-for-T20 cricketer, it at times felt like T20 was actually a made-for-McCullum format. That he batted too aggressively and over-relied on the "that's how I play" justification had been a criticism since his earliest days in Test and ODI cricket. To T20 cricket, meanwhile, he brought his most unvarnished self, and on this canvas painted some of its earliest masterpieces. Among his international smash hits, the 116 not out off 56 balls against a lightning-quick Australia attack, glitters a little brighter than the rest.

McCullum T20 factfile Matches: 299

299 Runs: 7782

7782 Strike rate: 136.57

136.57 PotM awards: 16

16 Titles: 8

8 Standout stat: McCullum is one of two players to have more than one 150-plus score in T20 leagues (both scored one each in the IPL and T20 Blast)

He was a player of great innings, rather than a consistent performer. Even in his most productive IPL year - 2015, when he scored 436 runs at a strike rate of 158 - he was only the ninth-highest run-scorer that season. In his best year in the BBL, 2016-17, he was the fourth-highest scorer, though he did leave a mark on that league in other ways, captaining Brisbane Heat in successive seasons; in that 2016-17 tournament they went all the way to the semi-final, which was tied, before losing out in the Super Over.

Once McCullum began to play T20 cricket, he never really stopped playing it. He brought all his brashness, now validated by cricket's newest format, to ODIs and Tests, where he made hyper-aggression New Zealand's hallmark across formats.

There have been other cricketers who could have flourished in the T20 era but were born too early. McCullum, like the edge of his bat against Zaheer, was at the right place at the right time. He took huge risks, and they tended to pay off.

Career high: How to go past that manic first IPL night? McCullum hit more sixes (13) than fours (ten), created an IPL record that lasted five full seasons, and launched himself into superstardom.

Imran Tahir led Guyana Amazon Warriors to a CPL title, and is their leading wicket-taker © CPL T20/Getty Images

No. 20, Imran Tahir

by Firdose Moonda

The ever-changing highlights in his hair and effusiveness of his celebrations are enough to have turned Tahir into a T20 cult hero but it is his bowling that really confirms his status as a star.

Tahir carved out his professional career in South Africa, where spinners were seen as stop-gaps even in the early 2010s. He single-handedly changed that mentality by combining attacking performances with an ability to control the game through the middle overs. Primarily, he was not scared to use the googly - which many other leggies consider a variation - as his stock ball, and would sometimes bowl six in a row because he knew they were effective. His bravery in bowling quicker and flatter has since been adopted by many spinners in the modern white-ball game and it established his presence as essential, not merely an add-on, first on the South African circuit and then around the world.

Since retiring from ODIs in 2019, Tahir's T20 game has only become stronger. Deep into his 40s, he is still sought after in leagues around the world. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for Guyana Amazon Warriors, whom he also captains in the CPL, and for Multan Sultans in the PSL.

Tahir T20 factfile Matches: 391

391 Wickets: 470

470 Econ: 6.99

6.99 PotM awards: 15

15 Titles: 6

6 Standout stat: Tahir is one of three bowlers to have taken over 100 wickets in the CPL. He has 107 wickets, behind Dwayne Bravo (129) and Sunil Narine (123)

As the years roll on, Tahir's commitment to improving has only grown and the aspect in which he has advanced most is his fielding. From being hidden away by the boundary rope, Tahir has now taken two of the best grabs in the SA20: in the 2024 Eliminator he took an over-the-shoulder stunner off a top edge at fine leg to dismiss Mitchell Van Buuren; and in 2025, a two-handed diving grab to his right to dismiss Wiaan Mulder in Durban. He seems to enjoy these as much as the dismissals he claims with the ball. While his famous wicket celebrations have changed from near-full laps of the outfield to the Cristiano-Ronaldo inspired "siu", Tahir's enthusiasm and passion for the game have remained steadfast.

Career high: In his first tournament-long gig as captain, in 2023, Tahir led Guyana Amazon Warriors to the CPL title. He was the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker, with 18 at an economy of 6.22, including the scalps of Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo in the final.

Stats in factfile sidebars are for all T20 matches, minus internationals, and current as up to the start of the 2025 IPL. League wins cover tournaments of four teams and above, and include seasons where the player appeared in at least one match for the winning team

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Click here to read article