India’s Greatest Ever Test Batsmen – From Tendulkar to Kohli

At the time of writing (February 2024), India’s men’s cricket team are ranked as the second-best Test side in the world (just behind the Aussies). Their standing in recent years has been helped by the numerous runs scored by the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara, among others. In this article, however, we’re taking a look at the greatest-ever Test match run scorers India has produced. After giving a summary of the Test batting stats of India’s top 10, we’ll go into a little more detail about the best of the best, starting of course with the GOAT: Sachin Tendulkar.

India’s Top 10 Career Run Scorers in Test Matches

* = Not Out

As you can see, India’s top 10 features some of the greatest batsmen that have ever played the game, with three of them scoring more than 10,000 Test runs while also averaging more than 50, a feat achieved by only seven other men in the history of Test cricket! So let’s delve a little deeper into those legends of Indian cricket who occupy the top four positions of the table.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – 15,921 Runs in 200 Test Matches

Affectionately known as the Little Master, Tendulkar might only be 5ft 5in tall, but he packs a batting punch that few have ever matched. Topping the batting charts for India is impressive enough, but this legend is the world’s highest-ever run scorer in Test matches, and – for good measure – he’s also scored more runs in One Day Internationals than any other player (18,246 in 246 matches).

Among his amazing haul of records, Tendulkar was the first player to hit the milestones of 12,000 and 13,000 Test runs and, to date, remains the only player to have scored more than 14,000 and then went on to get past 15,000. His closest rival in the all-time Test run-scoring charts is Aussie legend Ricky Ponting, but he retired on 13,378 runs. In fact, the only player in the top 10 in the world who’s still playing is Joe Root, and he’s more than 4,000 runs short of Tendulkar’s total!

Rahul Sharad Dravid – 13,288 Runs in 164 Test Matches

Rather more measured and less explosive than Tendulkar at times, Rahul Dravid was still a run machine and enjoyed many a partnership with the Little Master over the years. Dravid’s nickname of The Wall tells you a lot about his sometimes cautious batting style, and he would happily bat for hours on end, frustrating opposition bowlers and keeping the score ticking along at a steady (rather than breathtaking) rate. The fact that Dravid had 32 not outs to his name in 164 matches (compared to Tendulkar’s 33 in 200 matches), shows how well he protected his wicket. Of the top 10 all-time Test run scorers from around the world, aside from Tendulkar, only Jacques Kallis of South Africa and the notoriously stubborn Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies had more not outs at Test level.

Dravid is one of only four men to have reached the 13,000-run milestone, and his average of 52.31 is better than that of Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards and plenty of other legends of cricket. That Dravid’s strike rate (42.51) is the lowest of any of the top 10 all-time Test run scorers, is another example of how he ground out his scores. And though he didn’t always grab the headlines, there’s no doubt that Dravid’s knocks made the difference for India in numerous Test matches over the years.

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar – 10,122 Runs in 125 Test Matches

The third man in India’s all-time Test run-scoring list (and the 13th when including those from anywhere in the world) played in a different era of cricket and was a fantastic opening batsman who was the bain of bowlers the world over. Sunny, as he was known, hardly ever gave his wicket away cheaply. He was particularly adept and fearless when facing fast bowlers who would often intimidate lesser opponents. Indeed, he achieved an astounding average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who were renowned at the time for having a fearsome bowling attack.

Standing as tall (or small) as Tendulkar, Gavaskar was a great inspiration to the future legend. Indeed, when Gavaskar met a 14-year-old Tendulkar, he gave the youngster a pair of his cricket pads, something the Little Master later described as, “the greatest source of encouragement.” Little did Gavaskar know, it wouldn’t be long before that 14-year-old would be breaking many of the records Gavaskar had set!

Virat Kohli – 8,848 Runs in 113 Test Matches

Virat Kohli is the only player in India’s top 10 Test match run scorers who is still plying his trade, although he pulled out of India’s most recent Test series against England for “personal reasons”. Whether or not he adds to his total of 8,848 Test runs, he’s already proven himself to be a worthy legend of Indian cricket, not least in the shorter formats of the game. At the time of writing, he is the only player in the world to have scored more than 4,000 runs in international Twenty20 matches, and he’s also third in the all-time run-scoring list for One Day Internationals with 13,848 to his name (behind Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara).

As well as being an exceptional batsman, Kohli has also proved himself an astute and determined captain. He led India to the top of the world Test rankings and also to his country’s first-ever Test series win in Australia. He’s also scored centuries in Test matches against every country he’s ever played against… except Bangladesh. And though his Test match batting average (49.15) might not be quite as impressive as those mentioned above, Kohli still holds his rightful place in the list of the greatest batsmen India has ever produced.