List of Top 10 Batters in the history of cricket

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“Cricket” has grabbed the enthusiasm of sports lovers around the world, and as time has passed, the players of this sport, particularly batters, have played a significant role in providing the thrill and excitement to the cricket fans. Some of them over the years have achieved something exceptional in this sport and garnered a lot of praise for their special skillset, and here we have mentioned the names of the top 10 batters in international cricket who changed the game altogether with their class and elegant batting styles and raised the bar of perfection in this sport.

Kumar Sangakkara(Sri Lanka):

The left-handed wicketkeeper batter, Kumar Sangakkara, is one of the greatest players who has ever blessed Sri Lankan and international cricket with his talent and elegant batting style. He was “the wall” of the top-order batting line-up of the Sri Lankan team. Not just with the bat, he was equally good behind the wickets with gloves on. In his exceptional cricket career, he scored mountains of runs in all formats of cricket. His batting abilities made him the most feared top-order batter, and his average in test cricket is evidence of his brilliance in the game. He scored 38 centuries in test cricket with an average of 57.14.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	134	233	17	12400	319	57.40	22882	54.19	38	52	1491	51	182	20
ODIs	404	380	41	14234	169	41.98	18048	78.86	25	93	1385	88	402	99
T20Is	56	53	9	1382	78	31.40	1156	119.55	0	8	139	20	25	20

Virender Sehwag(India):

India’s opening right-handed batter was one of the most unorthodox batters that has ever played for India. This ruthless Indian batter changed the role of an opening batter altogether, where most of the opening batters tried to play much safer shots to provide a decent start to their teams. His approach to the game was the complete opposite. Virender Sehwag’s mindset was always a mystery for the bowlers, but his approach was clear: he ruthlessly hammers bowlers; it doesn’t matter who comes to bowl first since the start of the first over; he plays his natural game till he gets out, and his fearless batting attitude made him the only Indian batter to score two triple centuries in test cricket.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	104	180	6	8586	319	49.34	10441	82.23	23	32	1233	91	91
ODIs	251	245	9	8273	219	35.05	7929	104.33	15	38	1132	136	93
T20Is	19	18	0	394	68	21.88	271	145.38	0	2	43	16	2

Ricky Ponting(Australia):

One of the most successful captains of the Australian team, Ricky Ponting, during his playing days, not only made the Australian team one of the most complete teams one could ever imagine, but in fact, it was once considered that it was nearly impossible to defeat Australia in an international match. He himself not only provided stability in the batting lineup, but his leadership skills and tactical approach took Australia to three World titles back to back. Australia won the 1999, 2003, and 2007 ODI World Cups under the leadership of Ricky Ponting.

His batting prowess is expressed by his international cricket stats.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	168	287	29	13378	257	51.85	22782	58.72	41	62	1509	73	196
ODIs	375	365	39	13704	164	42.03	17046	80.39	30	82	1231	162	160
T20Is	17	16	2	401	98*	28.64	302	132.78	0	2	41	11	8

Sunil Gavaskar(India):

The “Little Master” of the Indian cricket team, Sunil Gavaskar, was one of the most impressive batters in international cricket. Despite being short in height, his remarkable batting skills made him stand for long hours in front of the tall bowlers in test cricket. Sunil Gavaskar scored 34 test centuries in his illustrated international career and saved India many times from humiliation by tackling the challenges whenever he was on the crease. His brilliance in the batting and his aggressive on-field attitude even made the excellent bowlers of the opponent’s team sweat. The stats of Sunil Gavaskar in cricket speak volumes about his batting skills.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	6s	Ct
Tests	125	214	16	10122	236*	51.12	–	–	34	45	26	108
ODIs	108	102	14	3092	103*	35.13	4966	62.26	1	27	–	22
FC	348	563	61	25834	340	51.46	–	–	81	105	–	293

Sir Jack Hobbs(England):

This English cricketer’s dominance in the game of cricket can be assessed by the record of the runs he scored during the earlier days of cricket, when the pitches were challenging, bowlers were ruthless, and little protection gear was available. Despite that, he scored 61,760 runs with 199 first-class centuries. His “Ashes series” record makes him a special batter altogether, as the right-handed batter scored three consecutive centuries against Australia back in 1911–12, which gave him the title of “world’s best batsman.”

Format	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	6s
Tests	61	102	7	5410	211	56.95	15	28	8

Sir Vivian Richards(West Indies):

The Caribbean soil has produced some remarkable players over the years. Currently, most of the players are known for their explosive power and athletic strength, but there was a time when batters from the West Indies were not just all about power hitting; they were elegant as well in their approach, and one of the greatest batters among those was Sir Vivian Richards, who was not just elegant but lethal with the bat in his hand. His confidence and fearlessness while batting can be assessed by the fact that he didn’t even wear a helmet in his entire cricket career and retired in 1991 as the last batter to never wear a helmet while playing cricket.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	121	182	12	8540	291	50.23	–	–	24	45	84	122	0
ODIs	187	167	24	6721	189*	47.00	7451	90.20	11	45	–	100	0
FC	507	796	63	36212	322	49.40	–	–	114	162	–	464	1

Brian Lara (West Indies):

Another West Indies great and one of the greatest batters ever to step on the cricket field, Brian Lara, in his cricketing career that lasted over 17 years, achieved various milestones and set some for the young players, which are still to be broken. He is the only batter in the history of test cricket who has scored unbeaten 400 runs in a test match. His remarkable achievements in the cricket sphere speak for themselves. Brian Lara back in 1994 scored 501 (unbeaten) in the first-class test cricket while playing for Warwickshire.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	131	232	6	11953	400*	52.88	19753	60.51	34	48	1559	88	164
ODIs	299	289	32	10405	169	40.48	13086	79.51	19	63	1042	133	120
FC	261	440	13	22156	501*	51.88	–	–	65	88	–	–	320
List A	429	411	43	14602	169	39.67	–	–	27	86	–	–	177

Virat Kohli(India):

India’s former skipper, who has not just raised the bar of excellence for the upcoming batters in cricket but also promoted the culture of being fit to play each format of the game, makes him arguably the modern-day great. Virat Kohli, who is still an active player in international cricket, has dominated all three formats of cricket, and the aggression he brings to the cricket field has transformed the Indian team approach to test cricket overseas. Under his captaincy, the Indian team reached the finals of the 2021 World Test Championship, though hard luck followed them and they ended up on the losing side. Virat Kohli is the only batter in the history of ODI cricket to score 50 ODI centuries.

Format	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100	200	50	4s	6s
Test	112	188	11	8714	254	49.23	15772	55.25	29	7	29	971	24
ODI	292	280	44	13848	183	58.68	14797	93.59	50	0	72	1294	152
T20I	115	107	31	4008	122	52.74	2905	137.97	1	0	37	356	117
IPL	237	229	34	7263	113	37.25	5586	130.02	7	0	50	643	234

Sir Donald Bradman(Australia):

Sir Donald Bradman was arguably the pioneer of batting brilliance, and his records in first-class and test cricket during his time tell a lot about what kind of batsman he was in his time. He is the only batter in the history of test cricket to have had an average of 99.94 in test cricket. He played 52 test matches and scored 29 centuries and 13 fifties.

Format	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	6s
Tests	52	80	10	6996	334	99.94	29	13	6
FC	234	338	43	28067	452*	95.14	117	69	–

Sachin Tendulkar(India):

Talking about the top 10 batters in the world and not talking about the legend Sachin Tendulkar would be a disgrace. The 5-foot-5-inch right-handed batter debut happened in international cricket when he was just 16 years old against the arch-rivals Pakistan. Little anyone knew back then that one day this kid would rule the cricket world with his batting skills and take the sport to a new height. In his vast cricket career, which spans over more than two decades, he scored centuries of centuries, almost overpowering every bowler of his era. Becoming the first batter to score a double century in the ODIs was one of his many achievements in cricket.

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	200	329	33	15921	248*	53.78	–	–	51	68	–	69	115
ODIs	463	452	41	18426	200*	44.83	21368	86.23	49	96	2016	195	140
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1
FC	310	490	51	25396	248*	57.84	–	–	81	116	–	–	186
List A	551	538	55	21999	200*	45.54	–	–	60	114	–	–	175
T20s	96	96	11	2797	100*	32.90	2310	121.08	1	16	359	38	28

FAQs:

Which batter has the most number of centuries in international cricket?

India’s legend Sachin Tendulkar is the batter with the most centuries in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar scored 100 centuries in international cricket.

Which batter reached number one in the ICC rankings in all formats?

Virat Kohli is the only active batter who ranked number one in all three ICC formats (ODI, Test, T20). Back in 2018, he did this miracle.

Who is the world’s best batter in Test cricket?

Well, there is no exact answer for that, but if we go with the average, it will unarguably be Sir Donald Bradman, who had a test average of 99.94.

How many runs has Sachin Tendulkar scored in Test cricket?

Sachin Tendulkar scored 15921 runs in test cricket.

Top 8 Batters With Most Number of Boundaries in ICC ODI World Cup

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