West Indies batter Shai Hope in action against New Zealand. (PHOTO: AP)
West Indies may have been struggling as a collective unit this year, but their biggest batting hope, Shai Hope, remains a silver lining amidst their downfall. The famous draw against New Zealand in the first Test at Christchurch will be remembered for Justin Greaves’ gritty double century, but it was Shai Hope’s earlier century under adverse conditions that instilled the much-needed confidence in the remaining batters to punch above their weight.
On Wednesday, Hope was again the mainstay for West Indies on Day 1 of the second Test at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. The side was bundled out for just 205, but Hope fought on from one end, scoring a crucial 48 runs. This innings also took him past Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill to become the highest run-scorer across formats this year.
Hope now has 1,749 runs from 47 innings across 41 matches in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is in 2025. With five centuries and nine fifties, he has surpassed Gill’s tally of 1,736 runs.
Gill, who had a historic tour of England as a batter in his first assignment as India’s full-time Test captain, has scored at an impressive average of 51.05 across formats this year. He scored 754 runs in five Tests in England. While his white-ball form has seen a slight slump on recent tours, he could still become 2025’s highest run-getter, with four more T20Is against South Africa remaining.
The top five run-getters in 2025 are rounded out by Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett (1,585 runs) in third, Pakistan’s T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha (1,569 runs) in fourth, and England’s all-time second-highest Test scorer, Joe Root (1,540 runs), in fifth.
| Player | Mat | Inns | Ave | 100 | 50 | Runs |
| Shai Hope (WI) | 41* | 47 | 42.65 | 5 | 9 | 1749 |
| Shubman Gill (IND) | 33 | 40 | 51.05 | 7 | 3 | 1736 |
| Brian Bennett (ZIM) | 39 | 46 | 35.22 | 3 | 8 | 1585 |
| Agha Salman (PAK) | 56 | 58 | 32.68 | 2 | 9 | 1569 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 23 | 29 | 59.23 | 7 | 5 | 1540 |
| Karanbir Singh (AUT) | 32 | 32 | 51.31 | 2 | 13 | 1488 |
| Ben Duckett (ENG) | 31 | 37 | 38.24 | 3 | 8 | 1415 |
| Pathum Nissanka (SL) | 34 | 36 | 40.4 | 4 | 6 | 1414 |
| Harry Brook (ENG) | 36 | 41 | 36.65 | 3 | 7 | 1393 |
| Rachin Ravindra (NZ) | 31* | 29 | 46.62 | 4 | 5 | 1259 |
| KL Rahul (IND) | 24 | 30 | 47.2 | 3 | 5 | 1180 |
| Fiaz Ahmed (BHR) | 37 | 34 | 53.13 | 1 | 7 | 1169 |
| Kusal Mendis (SL) | 35 | 37 | 34.32 | 2 | 7 | 1167 |
| Daryl Mitchell (NZ) | 41* | 32 | 45.56 | 1 | 7 | 1139 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 30 | 35 | 33.28 | 1 | 8 | 1065 |
| Travis Head (AUS) | 28 | 35 | 31.66 | 2 | 4 | 1045 |
| Prashant Kurup (BHR) | 38 | 37 | 31.53 | – | 6 | 1009 |
| Bilal Zalmai (AUT) | 36 | 35 | 31.5 | – | 9 | 1008 |
| Sikandar Raza (ZIM) | 35 | 38 | 29.41 | – | 8 | 1000 |
| Muhammad Waseem (UAE) | 31 | 31 | 31.25 | – | 8 | 969 |
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