Top 10 Run Scorers For Team India In International Cricket

Team India is blessed to have a large pool of highly talented cricketers. Over the years India has produced some exceptionally talented players who went on to dominate the cricketing world. The main reason behind the presence of a large pool of outstanding cricketers is the domestic structure built by The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

In this article, we will take you through the list of Top 10 Run Scorers For Team India In International Cricket. There are a total of 14 Indian cricketers who have crossed the 10,000 runs mark in international cricket, among them only 8 players have crossed the 15,000 runs mark and So far only 3 Indian cricketers have made it past 20,000 international runs. ( Test, One Day Internationals, and T20I combined).

Top 10 Run Scorers For Team India In International Cricket

10. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh was the main man behind India’s triumph in the 2011 50-over World Cup tournament. In that event he achieved enormous milestones, he won in total 4 Player of the match awards and a Player of the Tournament award as well. Yuvraj managed to score 362 runs in the marquee event and he bagged 15 wickets.

His career was filled with big achievements and he was also known as sixer king for his boundary-hitting abilities. In the 2007 T20 World Cup Triumph, he smashed 6 consecutive sixes in an over in the match against England to Stuart Broad.

Yuvraj Singh played his last international match for India in 2017 and he announced his retirement on 10 June 2019. However, before his exit from the Indian cricket team, he managed to play 402 games for Team India and scored 11778 runs at an average of 35.05. He was also able to score 17 hundred and 71 fifties while representing his nation. Also With the ball, Yuvraj contributed for India as he managed to pick 148 wickets in his career.

9. Sunil Gavaskar

The legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful openers of all time. He had amazing batting techniques immense concentration and solid defense. His best form was witnessed in the purest form of the game and the wicket of

Sunil Gavaskar was very hard to get and a precious one for the opposition team. Notably, Sunil Gavaskar was the first-ever batsman to score 10,000 in Test cricket. He reached this huge milestone in March 1987 in the match against Pakistan.

Gavaskar did a lot for India before announcing his retirement from all forms of the game on 13 March 1987. Sunil Gavaskar managed to score in total 10122 runs for team India in Test cricket at an excellent average of 51.12.

Meanwhile, in ODIs, he scored 3092 runs at an average of 35.13. Also in his massively successful international career, he managed to smash 35 centuries. In total, he has 13214 international runs at an average of 46.20.

8. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma aka Hitman is arguably the greatest opener in world cricket currently. Since being given the responsibility to open the innings he has shined like never before, Rohit Sharma has just kept improving time after time and now he has established himself as the first choice opener of team India in all three formats of the game.

The biggest highlight of the career of Rohit Sharma is the double centuries smashed by him in ODIs. He is the only player with 3 ODI double centuries under his belt. Also, the vice-captain of India holds the record of higher individual run in an ODI inning. Notably, he smashed 264 runs in 2014 against Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma is the latest member of team India to enter the 15,000 runs club also he is the 5th fastest Indian to achieve this milestone as he completed 15,000 runs in 397 innings. Currently, Rohit Sharma has scored 15009 runs at an average of 44.14. Also, he has smashed 40 centuries and 79 half-centuries in his international career.

7. Mohammad Azharuddin

The former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin aka Azhar is one of the most prolific run-getters for team India in international cricket. His batting stance was just too elegant to watch and he was an equally effective batsman in One Day Internationals and Test cricket.

Other than his batting career Azharuddin is also named amongst the most successful Indian captains. He led India in 174 One Day Internationals and 47 Tests. Meanwhile, he was able to bag the victory in 90 ODIs. On the Test side, he managed to get 14 victories.

His career was also filled with a lot of controversies. In the year 2000 match-fixing allegations were imposed on him which led him to get banned from International cricket.

Before that incident he played 99 Test matches and 334 ODI games for India, scoring 6215 and 9378 runs. In total, he had 15593 international runs at an average of 39.77. Also, he was able to smash 29 centuries and 79 half-centuries in his career.

6. Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag is known as one of the most explosive batsmen of all time. He was an aggressive right-handed batter and a part-time spinner. With his boundary hitting ability along with minimum footwork and maximum intent, he scored quick runs for his team in every format including the longest format of the game. Coming into the crease starting the innings with a boundary was the trademark of the explosive Indian opener.

Virender Sehwag was able to represent India in 104 Test matches and he was able to score 8586 runs at an average of 49.34 and strike rate of 82.23. He played 251 ODIs and scored 8273 runs with a strike rate of 104.33.

Also, he was able to score 394 T20I runs at a strike rate of 145.38. Overall in 374 games, he was able to score 17253 international runs at an average of 40.31 and a strike rate of 92.55, including 38 hundred and 72 fifties.

5. MS Dhoni

The legendary Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly the most successful Indian captain of all time. He is the only captain in the history of the game to win Big 3 ICC Trophies. Dhoni-led India towards victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy.

MSD has captained Team India in 200 ODI games and has won 110 games. Overall he is the captain with the most number of international games as Dhoni has captained India in 332 games winning 178. The only captain who has more wins than Dhoni is legendary Australian Ricky Ponting (220 wins).

Other than leadership Mahi was also the dependable finisher. In total, he played 538 international games scoring 17266 runs at an average of 44.96. His illustrious career was filled with 16 centuries and 108 half-centuries.

4. Sourav Ganguly

The number 4 on the list is yet another legendary Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly. Currently, Ganguly is the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Sourav Ganguly is popularly honored as Maharaja of Indian Cricket. During his career, Ganguly was amongst the best batsmen in the world, not even this he established himself as one of the world’s leading captains.

Notably, he was the main reason behind the renovation of the Indian national cricket team. Sourav Ganguly was also given the name of God of the Off Side for his sensational and elegant stroke play, the square of the wicket, and through the covers.

In his remarkable career, the Prince of Kolkata managed to play 113 Tests and 311 One Day Internationals for team India scoring 7212 and 11363 runs respectively. Notably, Ganguly averaged 40+ in both ODIs and Tests. Also, he was able to smash 16 Test and 22 ODI centuries. Overall he scored in total 18575 runs in his splendid career.

3. Virat Kohli

The 32-year-old current Indian captain Virat Kohli comes at number 3 position, He is the only 3rd Indian to cross the 20,000 international runs mark. Virat Kohli is already being named among all-time greats.

At just the age of 32, he has achieved a lot of milestones and is extremely fit enough to continue his run in international cricket till the age of 40. Virat Kohli is an unstoppable force and arguably the best modern generation batter.

Virat Kohli has already scored 23049 international runs in just 440 games and 490 innings which makes him the fastest cricketer to achieve this milestone. Overall he averages 55.27 in international cricket and has already scored 70 international centuries. Also other than his batting career he is establishing him as one of the greatest Indian captains, as he has a win percentage of 70.43 in One Day Internationals.

2. Rahul Dravid

Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid was the wall of the Indian national cricket team. Probably, he was the last pure Test batsman to step foot into international cricket. His solid defense, unreal patience, and sound batting technique helped him achieve enormous success in international cricket. Dravid is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.

In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I). Meanwhile, in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket.

However, before saying goodbye to international cricket he has done a lot to be named among all-time greats. He scored 13288 Test runs, 10889 ODI runs and 31 T20I runs making it a total of 24208 runs in 509 games. Overall he is the 6th highest run-getter in international cricket and the 2nd highest run-getter for Team India.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

The Greatest Of All Time, God Of Cricket, and Absolute Legend Of The Game, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He was the most complete batsman in cricket and the most prolific run-getter. Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly the biggest icon witnessed in the cricketing world.

The Master Blaster is the highest run-scorer of all time in the international cricket scene, the only player to score a century of centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in the history of One Day International (ODI), the record holder for the most runs in Test and ODI cricket. Overall Sachin Tendulkar is the only player who managed to cross 30,000 runs in international cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut at the age of 16 years and 205 days in 1989 and said goodbye to One Day Internationals on 23 December 2012 and On 10 October 2013 Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all cricket.

During this period he achieved remarkable milestones like no other player in his career. Sachin Tendulkar in total played 664 games for Team India scoring 34357 runs at an average of 48.52. His illustrious career was filled with 100 centuries and 164 half-centuries.

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