Scoring runs in all three formats of international cricket; Test, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 International (T20I) is one of the toughest feats to achieve when we talk about batting records. To stay at the top of one format for a long international career is a big enough task as it needs extraordinary skill, fitness, focus and consistency – let alone adapting to three entirely different types of cricket.
Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most runs scored in international cricket across all formats – he finished his international career with an outstanding 34,357 runs for India. By the time he retired, he held the record for playing in 664 international matches and becoming the first cricketer ever to score over 100 international centuries.
Inеvеrthеlеss, a mоdеrn gеnёration has cоmп up with 0 anothеr masтrr in Rums in form of Viкat Kоhli. In January 2026, Kohli surpassed Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara to become the second all-time run scorer in men’s international cricket having scored 28,068 runs at that time.
In this article, we take a look at the best run-scorers in international cricket with respect to all formats- their stats and records; and what makes these achievements even more exceptional.
What Does “Most Runs in International Cricket in All Formats” Mean?
Most runs in international cricket (all formats) The total number of approved men’s international Tests as well as ODIs and T20Is scored by a player for his country.
This does not take into account domestic or franchise leagues like the IPL, Big Bash League, The Hundred or county cricket.
This difference is crucial because the general professional statistics of a player can be significantly increased by including domestic or franchise games in addition to purely international records. An international career record is only for national team appearances.
The statistics database of ESPNcricinfo keeps separate records in Test, ODI and T20I matches, but achieves some sort of international statistical amalgamation.
Who Has Scored the Most Runs in International Cricket?
The answer remains Sachin Tendulkar.
Between his debut in 1989 and retirement in 2013, Tendulkar racked up a massive total of 34,357 international runs. His cumulative runs have come in 664 international matches and 782 innings He retired with a total of 100 international hundreds and 164 fifties.
His feat is all the more impressive because he played for over two decades when cricket saw a massive shift in the nature of the game.
Tendulkar’s career spanned an age where Test and ODIs were gargantuan monoliths, with T20Is only just starting to peak out above the horizon towards the end of his career. As a result, he made the majority of his runs in Tests and ODIs.
His career figures include:
- International matches: 664
- International innings: 782
- Total runs: 34,357
- International centuries: 100
- International fifties: 164
- Test runs: 15,921
- ODI runs: 18,426
Tendulkar, who amassed 15,921 runs and became the leading Test run-scorer of all time on ESPNcricinfo Tendo list before finally retiring from international cricket in December 2012 after also being top ODI run-scorers (bingo with 18,426)
Top 10 Most Runs in International Cricket in All Formats
All-time list in T20 cricket has been ruled by iconic batsmen from India, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and England and the West Indies
| Rank | Player | International Runs | Matches | 100s |
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | 34,357 | 664 | 100 |
| 2 | Virat Kohli* | 28,000+ | 500+ | 80+ |
| 3 | Kumar Sangakkara | 28,016 | 594 | 63 |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting | 27,483 | 560 | 71 |
| 5 | Mahela Jayawardene | 25,957 | 652 | 54 |
| 6 | Jacques Kallis | 25,534 | 519 | 62 |
| 7 | Rahul Dravid | 24,208 | 509 | 48 |
| 8 | Brian Lara | 22,358 | 430 | 53 |
| 9 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 21,032 | 586 | 42 |
| 10 | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 20,988 | 454 | 41 |
Virat Kohli’s exact position and total has kept on varying over his flourishing global profession from that point onward. He passed 28,068 runs to become No. 2 in January 2026, the ICC confirmed.
ESPNcricinfo and other top-notch cricket stats sources have records of international career totals for the retired players in the table, so this is historical totals as of now.
Sachin Tendulkar: The Record Holder
The 34,357 international runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in his career is the gold standard for batting productivity and durability.
The teenager made his international debut for India in 1989 and had an international cricket career that stretched over two decades until November 2013. Back then he was up against some of the best bowling attacks in world cricket and from different eras of the game.
The career numbers ESPNcricinfo uses for men’s Test cricket are not perfect, but his 15,921 runs in that format alone surely must be accurate.
Tendulkar made 18,426 runs in ODIs – again a world record.
His 100 international centuries is perhaps the most famous statistic from his career. On March 16, 2012 Tendulkar finally completed his century of international hundreds against Bangladesh in Dhaka. According to the ICC, reaching that milestone is a “three-decade and five-continent career,”
His versatile talent in different formats explains how he built an overall run total so massive.
Virat Kohli: The Closest Modern Challenger
When it comes to active-era batters who have genuinely come close to Tendulkar’s all-format record, it’s Kohli.
Kohli burst onto the international scene in 2008 and soon became one of India’s most reliable batters. You have performed in Test and ODIs while also becoming one of the most successful T20I batters over your generation.
As per ICC on 11 January 2026, Kohli had scored a total of runs – 28068 international runs and achieved the second position ahead of Kumar Sangakkara’s record score (28016) while hitting behind Sachin Tendulkar.
His current BCCI profile lists:
- Tests: 9,230 runs
- ODIs: 14,941 runs
- T20Is: 4,188 runs
- Combined across all three formats: 28359 runs
- Test centuries: 30
- ODI centuries: 54
- T20I centuries: 1
Currently, Kohli is listed as having played 314 ODIs and 125 T20Is at the BCCI’s player profile.
What makes Kohli’s performance all the more remarkable is that he got to the 28k runs mark in almost half as many innings compared to Tendulkar and Sangakkara. In January 2026, Kohli was mentioned in reports as the first player to hit 28,000 international runs after doing the same in his 624th innings (compared to Tendulkar’s 644 and Sangakkara’s 666).
Kumar Sangakkara: Sri Lanka’s Run-Making Giant
In fact, the second highest spot before Kohli came along was held by Kumar Sangakkara.
South African-born Sri Lankan left-hander Kumar Sangakkara, the elegant batsman, ended his international cricket career with 28,016 runs from 594 matches. He made 63 hundreds and 153 fifties.
Test cricket was where Sangakkara really shone, and his technique, as well as aptitude for batting long went firmly against the fabric of modern conservation that has plunged Test numbers in Sri Lanka where he is a top-ten batsman.
He also proved to be a brilliant keeper for the majority of his career which further strengthened his value to the national team.
Ricky Ponting: Australia’s Great Run-Scorer
Former Australia international Ricky Ponting is another name that appears near the top of the all-time list.
Ponting made 27,483 runs in international cricket in 560 games, including 71 hundreds and 146 fifties.
He was one of the key batsmen of Australia’s golden generation and central to their success in the late 1990s/2000s.
He was a nightmare for the opposition in ODI cricket but he had also built an even more solid Test record.
In terms of his bat and aggressive stroke play, then blaming the ban on superb hand eye coordination and taking over as captain to become one of the most dominating Australian cricketers in this era.
Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis
Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene ended his career with 25,957 runs across formats while South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis completed with 25,534.
But Kallis’ numbers are even better considering that he wasn’t just a run-scoring machine, but was also consistently one of the best all-rounders in the world.
He scored 62 international centuries and took hundreds of international wickets while hitting 149 fifties.
On the other hand, Jayawardene was a technically sound batter who did well against both Test and ODI cricket. He sits among the highest run-scores in international history with 25,957 runs
Rahul Dravid: The Wall
The other Indian to have had a spot on the list is Rahul Dravid.
India’s star batsman, he is popularly referred to as “The Wall” Dravid scored 24,208 international runs in 509 matches with the help of 48 centuries and 146 fifties.
Patience, technique and concentration are the cornerstones of his career.
Paired with similar backroom staff and players(though slightly younger) to Dravid, he too was a huge asset in the Test arena when he often faced down quality attacks for hours at a stretch.
His tally of 13,288 runs in Tests made him one of the leading run-scorers in history.
Brian Lara: One of Cricket’s Greatest Stroke-Makers
West Indies great Brian Lara has scored 22,358 international runs off 430 matches
During his international career, he scored 53 hundred and 111 half-centuries.
VVS Laxman in Eden Gardens is well actually remembered for individual extraordinary innings are sacred to Lara’s career too.
His 400 not out is also the highest score recorded in Test match cricket and one of the most brilliant innings ever played.
Although Lara wasn’t involved in as many international matches as Tendulkar or Ponting, he had an equally significant sway on the game.
Why Is Scoring 30,000 International Runs So Difficult?
Not everything needed to get you to 30,000 international runs can be taught in the nets.
A player has to remain fit for an age, stave off injuries, keep getting selected and perform repeatedly against waves of new and increasingly adept bowlers.
Another key difference between these three formats is their underlying design.
Test Cricket
It has no history up to October 2023 Trained on Tests need to focus for five days or so. Bowlers may have to reply to movement, spin factors, pitch conditions and prolonged spells.
ODI Cricket
ODIs need a balance of traditional style and aggressive play while batting. Phases of an innings — Powerplay, middle overs, death overs different players assist Cricket in managing those phases.
T20 Internationals
T20Is really require quick run scores, artistry and creativity. Batters also get only a few deliveries to use, so brush racks are especially vital.
An established player across all three formats must tweak his technique and method every single time.
Most International Centuries
Batting is not measured solely in numbers, however. Hundreds provide another important indicator.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only man in the history of cricket to score 100 international centuries.
While his own record of centuries was getting better and better for Virat Kohli. His BCCI profile also shows 54 ODI hundreds, 30 in Tests and one in T20Is.
Updated records now also have Kohli first on its new combined international century table, demonstrating how quickly his record has evolved in the contemporary timeframe.
Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli
The Tendulkar versus Kohli debate is one of the popular debates in cricket
| Statistic | Sachin Tendulkar | Virat Kohli |
| International runs | 34,357 | 28,000+ |
| International matches | 664 | 500+ |
| International centuries | 100 | 80+ |
| Test runs | 15,921 | 9,230 |
| ODI runs | 18,426 | 14,941 |
| T20I runs | 0* | 4,188 |
Tendulkar has played just one T20I for India but the oft-quoted international run tally comparison from his career is heavily skewed toward Tests and ODIs.
The pair also were from different generations. Tendulkar had a career running from 1989 to 2013, whereas Kohli’s international career has been ongoing since 2008 and still going strong in late 2026 by this point.
That makes direct comparisons difficult.
Also Read : Most Hundreds in ODI | Most Runs in T20 International | Optus Stadium
Can Virat Kohli Break Sachin Tendulkar’s Record?
This remains one of cricket’s great statistical unsolved mysteries.
By now, Kohli had crossed the 28,000 runs mark and surpassed Sangakkara. Still, Tendulkar’s 34,357 is still over 6,000 runs clear of the 28,068 that Kohli reached in January of 2026.
Whether Kohli makes up that gap will depend on many factors, such as how long he keeps playing international cricket and his fitness and future workload.
It will be difficult, but Kohli appears set to become one of the all-time greats when it comes scoring quickly and consistently.
The Importance of Longevity
The all-time record for most runs in international cricket is as much about endurance as it is about batting prowess.
Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years. Ponting played 17 years. Sangakkara played 15 years. Dravid played 16 years.
Having long careers enables players to rack up runs, but it takes more than that. The onus falls back onto players to deliver at the highest level.
Tendulkar’s career demonstrates this perfectly. Even in the DVD era of Indian cricket, he preserved his position to be a force in all formats well into this fortysomething.
Summary
Most runs in world cricket across formats is one of the benchmarks for enduring excellence with the bat.
Sachin Tendulkar leads the charts for most international runs with a record of 34,357 runs amassed over 24 years and in 664 matches. The sheer magnitude of his career is accentuated not least by the 100 international centuries he owns.
However, it is not just Tendulkar who made it a treasured conversation piece. In January 2026, Virat Kohli became his nearest modern rival, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara’s 28,016 runs to become the second-highest run-scorer in men’s international cricket.
For Kohli, this arc is emblematic of just how challenging it is to sustain top performance through the different formats of the game: red-ball Tests, white-ball ODIs and T20Is. Once he does, the most alluring statistical question in modern cricket – can he eventually go after Tendulkar’s 34,357?
The answer to “Who has scored the most runs in all formats of international cricket?” up until October 2023, however, is. You have a distinct answer until October 2023: Sachin Tendulkar 34,357 runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. One Day International (ODI) most runs in ODIs born players
Sachin Tendulkar: 34,357 international runs from 664 matches.
2. Who is second for most international runs?
January 2026 : Virat Kohli goes past Kumar Sangakkara after starting the year with 28,068 runs in second place.
3. Kumar Sangakkara scored how many international runs
From 594 international matches, Kumar Sangakkara scored a total of 28,016 runs.
4. Ricky Ponting International Runs career statistics March 30, 2023 Contents 1 27 Warne in December.
International Runs 27483 for Ricky Ponting in 560 Matches
5. He has held the record of writing his 100 international centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only batter to have 100 international hundreds (across all formats).
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