The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is set to be a boundary-hitting extravaganza, with a host of batters poised to take the league by storm. The introduction of the Impact Sub rule has emboldened top-order batters to play aggressively from the first ball, resulting in an upsurge in the number of boundaries. This article takes a closer look at six batters in their prime boundary-hitting form who are likely to get a consistent run in the top three for their teams and could end up contributing substantially to another record-breaking IPL season.
Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma has hit a boundary every 2.99 balls since June 2025, making him the most prolific boundary hitter among 57 batters to hit 100 or more boundaries in all T20s in this period. What makes Sharma stand out is his ability to hit big shots on the offside, with over 50% of his T20I runs coming on that side. Among 230 hits on the offside against top T20I teams, 87 have been boundaries, giving him a conversion rate of one boundary every 2.64 balls. This is the best among 112 batters who've hit 20 or more boundaries in series where complete ball-by-ball data is available.
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has an incredible boundary-hitting rate of about three balls per innings, which he maintained throughout his successful Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign with Jharkhand, the series against New Zealand, and the T20 World Cup. Since his return to the India fold, he has scored 69.17% of his runs in T20Is on the legside at a strike rate of 272.59, with a boundary every 2.27 balls. This is the best rate among batters with at least 50 boundaries on the legside in series where complete ball-by-ball data is available.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been in top form, scoring more runs than any other batter in their last ten T20 innings. He has hit a boundary every 3.03 balls and a six every 5.97 balls, with a strike rate of 202.79. Against pacers, Sooryavanshi's strike rate was 221.12, the highest for anyone to have scored at least 100 runs against them in the last season. He hit 27 boundaries, including 16 sixes, in just 71 balls against pacers.
Finn Allen
Finn Allen has hit one six every 5.93 balls, which is the best rate among batters to have hit at least 50 sixes in all T20s in that period. He has hit 99 sixes in T20s since June 2025, the third highest by any batter in that period. Allen's ball striking on the legside is also impressive, with no one but Shimron Hetmyer hitting more sixes to the legside than Allen in series where complete ball-by-ball information is available.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson's strokeplay on both sides of the wicket is a key strength. He can hit boundaries either side of the wicket, with a balls-per-boundary ratio of 2.59 on the offside, the best among 12 batters who got 100 or more runs on the offside in the T20 World Cup. Samson also performed well on the legside, hitting a boundary every 3.45 balls on average.
Shimron Hetmyer
Shimron Hetmyer has an average of 40.80 and strikes at over 180 in 12 innings at No. 3 since June 2025. He has hit the second-most sixes in all T20s post IPL 2025, with an incredible average of two sixes per innings. Hetmyer targets the cow corner, with 35.10% of his runs in T20s since June 2025 coming through that region. Among 90 batters who've hit 500 or more runs in series where ball-by-ball data is available, no batter has scored a higher percentage of runs through midwicket.
