Very few sports offer more versatility than the game of cricket. With the advent of T20 cricket, the sport now has three different formats. Of course, including both the men’s and the women’s versions, we totally have six unique branches of the sport. Across all formats, runs and wickets form the uniform gauging scale to measure the quality of a cricketer. On that note, in this article, we take a look at five players with the most international runs in each format of the game so far.
1) Sachin Tendulkar (India) – Men’s Test and Men’s ODI
Test Stats: Runs – 15921 || Matches – 200 || Average – 53.78
ODI Stats: Runs – 18426 || Matches – 463 || Average – 44.83
There are very few batting records in the Test and the ODI format which does not have Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the pile. The player who was part of the game for 22 years, Sachin has outscored all batsmen who have played International cricket till now.
In Tests, be it home or away, Sachin was India’s talisman at No.4. He struck 51 centuries in 200 matches and is the only player to achieve the feat so far. The Mumbaikar was India’s savior in the ODI team for a chunk of years. The first man to hit a 200 in the ODI format, Sachin’s run accumulation looks unattainable at the moment.
2) Virat Kohli (India)* – Men’s T20I
T20I Stats*: Runs – 3159 || Matches – 90 || Average – 52.65
The first Indian to score 9000 runs in T20 cricket, Virat Kohli happens to be the highest T20I run-getter till now. Until four years of the inaugural World T20, Virat had hardly played in this format. The likes of Martin Guptill were leading the charts then.
However, Virat’s accumulation of 471 runs in 2012, 385 runs in 2014, 641 runs in 2016, and 466 runs in 2019 helped him overtake Guptill with ease. A master chaser, as of today, Virat is the only batsman to have hit more than 3000 T20I, runs. Hence, he is one of the members of this list of cricketers with the most international runs in each format of the game.
3) Janette Brittin (England) – Women’s Test
Test Stats: Runs – 1935 || Matches – 27 || Average – 49.61
The recent Test match between India and England has brought the spotlight back on red-ball games for women. Till now, this format has occurred very rarely. In fact, barring England and Australia, no other team has played more than 50 Tests till now. Hence, it is not a surprise that the highest run-getter in Women’s Tests hails from England.
Janette Brittin was a crucial part of both the Test and the ODI teams for England in the past. A right-handed cricketer, Janette scored five Test centuries. She shares the record for most Women’s Test centuries with countrymate Charlotte Edwards. She passed away at the age of 58 due to cancer in 2017.
4) Mithali Raj (India)* – Women’s ODI
ODI Stats*: Runs – 7304 || Matches – 217 || Average – 51.80
It is the Indian superstar who has scored the most runs in Women’s ODIs so far. She recently became the woman cricketer to play for most years in International cricket. The highest capped ODI woman cricketer so far, Raj has quit T20I cricket to focus on the other two formats.
The captain of the team right now, Mithali has been the mainstay of the Indian batting attack since 1999. She has also played the most number of ODI games as a captain so far. Although she has not made it official, Mithali Raj has hinted that the 2022 World Cup could be her last tournament as an India cricketer.
5) Suzie Bates (New Zealand)* – Women’s T20I
T20I Stats*: Runs – 3301 || Matches – 122 || Average – 30.00
Kiwi all-rounder Suzie Bates is part of this list of cricketers with the most international runs in each format of the game. She leads the pack when it comes to Women’s T20 Internationals. Interestingly, she has also taken 50 wickets in this format.
One of the very few women to have scored a T20I century, Suzie was one of the recipients of New Zealand Cricket’s first female contracts in 2013. She also represented her country in basketball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At 33, Suzie has still got plenty of time in her career to extend the lead.
