He is the only England player among the top 10 batters in the list.
Former England captain Joe Root became only the ninth batter in history to notch up 22,000 runs in international cricket. He achieved the rare milestone during their historic Ashes 2025 victory at the MCG that broke a 15-year-long winless streak in Tests on Australian soil.
Currently, the 34-year-old is placed ninth in the star-studded chart of piling up the most runs in international cricket. Let’s dive in to check who are the other stalwarts featuring in the elite list of the game.
Sachin Tendulkar: The legendary Indian batter, Sachin Tendulkar, is usually referred to as the ‘God of Cricket’ by fans to acknowledge his massive achievements and contributions to the game.
He is still the only batter to notch up 30,000-plus runs across all the formats as well as 100 international hundreds. The opener has racked up a total of 34,357 runs, including 164 fifty-plus scores, which is the most ever in history.
Kumar Sangakkara: The Sri Lankan great, Kumar Sangakkara, stands second in the chart. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 28,016 runs, laced with 63 tons and 153 half-centuries. He also holds multiple records to his name, including the most dismissals as keeper (482), most stumpings in an ODI fixture (3), and most runs in a calendar year for putting up 2,868 runs across formats in 2013.
Virat Kohli: The modern-day great is the only active player among the top five batters to score the most runs in international cricket. Virat Kohli is just 42 runs away from eclipsing Sangakkara and climbing to the second place in the chart.
He also needs 16 more tons to equal the untouched feat of Tendulkar’s 100 centuries. The 36-year-old has scored 27,975 runs and 84 hundreds in only 556 matches so far.
Ricky Ponting: The World Cup-winning Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is seated fourth in the list of the most runs in international cricket with 27,483 runs. He also holds the record for the most matches as captain in the 50-over format, after leading the Aussies in 230 ODI fixtures. His run tally includes 71 hundreds and 146 half-centuries.
Mahela Jayawardene: The ex-Sri Lankan captain has scored the fifth most runs in international cricket, which includes 54 tons and 136 fifties. Notably, Mahela Jayawardene has pouched 440 catches across the three formats, which is the most in a player’s career so far. He also holds an unique record for notching up the most Test runs on a single ground (Colombo).
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| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | HIGHEST SCORE | AVERAGE | CENTURIES |
| Sachin Tendulkar (India) | 664 | 34,357 | 248* | 48.52 | 100 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | 594 | 28,016 | 319 | 46.77 | 63 |
| Virat Kohli (India) | 556 | 27,975 | 254* | 52.58 | 84 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 560 | 27,483 | 257 | 45.95 | 71 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) | 652 | 25,957 | 374 | 39.15 | 54 |
| Jacques Kallis (South Africa) | 519 | 25,534 | 224 | 49.1 | 62 |
| Rahul Dravid (India) | 509 | 24,208 | 270 | 45.41 | 48 |
| Brian Lara (West Indies) | 430 | 22,358 | 400* | 46.28 | 53 |
| Joe Root (England) | 380 | 22,000 | 262 | 49.21 | 59 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) | 586 | 21,032 | 340 | 34.14 | 42 |
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