Joe Root, the former captain of England, is now the ninth batsman in the history of cricket to reach the mark of 22,000 runs in international matches. This rare feat was accomplished during the team’s unprecedented Ashes 2025 win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which not only brought a 15-year wait but also a victory on Australian soil in Tests.
The 34-year-old currently ranks ninth among the world’s best players in terms of international runs scored. Let’s take a look at the other legends who are listed in the top ten players of all time.
Most Runs in International Cricket – Top 5 Batters
Sachin Tendulkar: The magical Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, is commonly called the ‘God of Cricket’ by fans who recognize his great achievements and contributions to the sport.
He is still the only player who has surpassed 30,000 runs in all formats as well as 100 international centuries. The opener has accumulated a total of 34,357 runs with 164 fifty-plus scores, which is also the highest in history.
Kumar Sangakkara: The Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara is in the second position with his total runs being 28,016 and he is the name of the wicketkeeper-batsman with 63 hundreds and 153 half-centuries. He also enjoys various records like the most dismissals as a keeper (482), three stumpings in an ODI (the record) and being the highest scorer in a calendar year with 2013’s total of 2,868 runs across formats.
Virat Kohli: The modern-day legend is the only current player who is among the top five batsmen in terms of international runs. Kohli is only 42 runs behind the Sri Lankan star Sangakkara and would then be the second-highest scorer in this category.
Moreover, he has to score 16 more centuries to achieve the unparalleled milestone of 100 centuries set by Tendulkar. The 36-year-old has already amassed a total of 27,975 runs and made 84 centuries through just 556 matches.
Ricky Ponting: The World Cup-winning Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, ranks fourth in the list of international run-getters with 27,483 runs. Besides, Ponting is the holder of the record for the longest captaincy in50-over format in terms of the number of matches played i.e., 230 ODIs. out of his total runs 71 were in form of hundreds and 146 of half-centuries.
Mahela Jayawardene: The Sri Lankan players have been in the fifth position in the list of the most runs in international cricket with 54 tons and 136 fifties. Among the other records he holds, 440 catches in all three formats are the most taken by a player during his career. Also, he has a unique record of having scored the most Test runs on a single ground (Colombo).
