Most Runs in ODI Cricket: Top Run Scorers in ODI History

Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most runs in ODI cricket. He scored 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs during his international career, at an average of 44.83 with 49 centuries. Virat Kohli is second with 15,002 runs in 315 matches, becoming only the second batter to cross 15,000 ODI runs on September 27, 2026.

Most Runs in ODI Cricket – Top 20 Players

The table below lists the top 20 run scorers in ODI history, ranked by total runs. Figures reflect records updated through September 30, 2026.

Rank	Player	Country	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
1	Sachin Tendulkar	India	463	452	18,426	200*	44.83	86.23	49	96
2	Virat Kohli	India	315	303	15,002	183	58.59	93.95	55	80
3	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	404	380	14,234	169	41.98	78.86	25	93
4	Ricky Ponting	Australia	375	365	13,704	164	42.03	80.39	30	82
5	Sanath Jayasuriya	Sri Lanka	445	433	13,430	189	32.36	91.20	28	68
6	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	448	418	12,650	144	33.37	78.96	19	77
7	Rohit Sharma	India	289	281	11,927	264	48.88	92.43	34	62
8	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Pakistan	378	350	11,739	137*	39.52	74.24	10	83
9	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	328	314	11,579	139	44.36	72.89	17	86
10	Sourav Ganguly	India	311	300	11,363	183	41.02	73.70	22	72
11	Rahul Dravid	India	344	318	10,889	153	39.16	71.24	12	83
12	Chris Gayle	West Indies	301	294	10,480	215	37.83	87.19	25	54
13	Brian Lara	West Indies	299	289	10,405	169	40.48	79.51	19	63
14	Tillakaratne Dilshan	Sri Lanka	330	303	10,290	161*	39.27	86.23	22	47
15	Mohammad Yousuf	Pakistan	288	273	9,720	141*	41.71	75.14	15	64
16	Yuvraj Singh	India	304	278	8,701	150	36.55	87.42	14	52
17	AB de Villiers	South Africa	228	218	9,577	176	53.50	101.09	25	53
18	Herschelle Gibbs	South Africa	248	240	8,094	175	36.13	83.31	21	37
19	Aravinda de Silva	Sri Lanka	308	296	9,284	145	34.90	81.19	11	64
20	Mark Waugh	Australia	244	236	8,500	173	39.35	76.82	18	50

Note: AB de Villiers is ranked 17th by runs but has the highest strike rate among the top 20. Aravinda de Silva and Mark Waugh are included based on historical rankings. Source data compiled from ICC and verified match records.

Most Runs in ODI for India

India dominates the all-time ODI run charts. Sachin Tendulkar leads with 18,426 runs. Virat Kohli follows with 15,002, Rohit Sharma is third with 11,927, and Sourav Ganguly sits fourth with 11,363.

What separates India’s top order from other nations is volume. Tendulkar played 463 ODIs over 23 years. Kohli reached 15,000 runs in 303 innings—74 innings faster than Tendulkar’s 377. Rohit is now 73 runs away from becoming the third Indian to reach 12,000 ODI runs.

For a closer look at how modern Indian middle-order batters are evaluated beyond raw totals, see our detailed KL Rahul career analysis, which tracks the shift from accumulation to impact per innings.

Most Runs in ODI for England

Joe Root is England’s leading ODI run scorer with 7,885 runs in 194 matches. Eoin Morgan is second with 6,957 runs, followed by Ian Bell with 5,416.

Jos Buttler became the first England player to score 10,000 runs across ODIs and T20Is in September 2026. He has 5,678 ODI runs and 4,384 T20I runs.

England’s ODI run totals look modest compared to India’s because England historically prioritized Test cricket and played fewer bilateral ODIs. Root’s tally would rank 15th on India’s all-time list. That reflects scheduling priorities, not a lack of batting quality.

Active Players With the Most ODI Runs

Among active players, Virat Kohli leads with 15,002 ODI runs. Rohit Sharma is second with 11,927, followed by Joe Root (7,885), Shakib Al Hasan (7,570), and Quinton de Kock (7,097).

Kohli has retired from Test and T20I cricket. He has confirmed that the 2027 ODI World Cup will be his final World Cup for India. Rohit, at 39, continues to open for India and is closing in on 12,000 ODI runs.

The active-player list is likely to shift significantly by 2028. Kohli and Rohit will retire. Shubman Gill, already India’s captain, is the most probable long-term heir to the ODI run-scoring charts.

Fastest to ODI Run Milestones

Virat Kohli holds the record for being the fastest to every major ODI run milestone, from 8,000 to 15,000.

Milestone	Fastest Player	Innings
8,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	175
9,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	194
10,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	205
11,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	222
12,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	242
13,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	267
14,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	287
15,000 ODI runs	Virat Kohli	303

Source: ICC and verified match records.

Kohli reached 15,000 ODI runs in 15,950 balls. Tendulkar needed 17,528 balls for the same milestone—a difference of 1,578 deliveries. That gap is not just about scoring speed. It reflects a fundamental shift in how ODI batting works: better bats, shorter boundaries, two new balls, and a generation of batters who train specifically for strike rotation.

Most ODI Centuries

Virat Kohli holds the record for the most ODI centuries with 55. Sachin Tendulkar is second with 49, Rohit Sharma third with 34, and Ricky Ponting fourth with 30.

Kohli scored his 55th ODI century in the same innings in which he crossed 15,000 runs, becoming the first player to achieve both landmarks simultaneously. He also equalled Tendulkar’s record of 60 List A centuries, reaching the mark in 338 innings compared to Tendulkar’s 538.

For context on how batting milestones compare across formats, our most Test wickets breakdown offers a parallel look at how bowling records are structured by longevity and format.

Highest Individual Score in ODI Cricket

Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest individual score in ODI cricket: 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on November 13, 2014. No other batter has crossed 250 in an ODI.

The next highest scores are Martin Guptill’s 237* for New Zealand against West Indies in 2015 and Virender Sehwag’s 219 for India against West Indies in 2011. Rohit also holds the record for the highest score in a World Cup chase.

Rohit’s 264 remains one of the most statistically extreme innings in ODI history. He faced 173 balls and struck 33 fours and 9 sixes. The strike rate was 152.60.

Most Runs in ODI World Cup History

Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run scorer in ODI World Cup history with 2,278 runs in 45 matches, including 6 centuries and 15 fifties. Virat Kohli is second with 1,795 runs in 37 World Cup matches at an average of 59.83, with 5 centuries and 12 fifties.

Kohli’s 765 runs in the 2023 World Cup are the most by any batter in a single World Cup edition. He broke Tendulkar’s previous record of 673 runs from 2003.

Kohli has confirmed that the 2027 World Cup will be his last. He needs 483 runs to surpass Tendulkar’s all-time World Cup tally. At his current World Cup average of 59.83, that would require roughly eight innings one full tournament campaign.

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Tendulkar vs Kohli: The Statistical Comparison

Metric	Sachin Tendulkar	Virat Kohli
ODI Runs	18,426	15,002
ODI Matches	463	315
ODI Innings	452	303
ODI Average	44.83	58.59
ODI Strike Rate	86.23	93.95
ODI Centuries	49	55
ODI Fifties	96	80
Highest Score	200*	183
Innings to 15,000 runs	377	303

Kohli’s average is 13.76 runs higher than Tendulkar’s. His strike rate is 7.72 points higher. He has six more centuries in 149 fewer innings.

But Tendulkar played in an era when 250 was a competitive total and reverse swing was a genuine threat. Kohli has played most of his ODI career in an era of flat pitches, two new balls, and batting-friendly rules.

The comparison is not Tendulkar vs Kohli. It is two different eras measured by the same numbers. Tendulkar’s 18,426 runs are a monument to longevity. Kohli’s 15,002 runs are a monument to efficiency. Both are correct. They simply answer different questions.

Will Virat Kohli Break Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI Run Record?

Kohli needs 3,424 more runs to surpass Tendulkar’s 18,426. He has retired from Test and T20I cricket, meaning all his remaining international cricket will be ODIs.

At his current average of 58.59 and an estimated 15–20 ODIs per year, Kohli would need approximately 60–65 more innings to close the gap. That is roughly three to four years of ODI cricket.

Kohli is 37. He has stated that the 2027 World Cup will be his final World Cup. If he plays until the 2027 tournament and then retires, he would likely finish between 16,500 and 17,000 ODI runs. That would leave him second on the all-time list, but significantly closer to Tendulkar than most analysts predicted when he debuted in 2008.

The record is possible but not probable. And that is a reasonable conclusion for a 37-year-old batter who has already rewritten most of ODI cricket’s significant batting records.

FAQ: Most Runs in ODI Cricket

Key Takeaways

• Sachin Tendulkar’s 18,426 ODI runs remain the benchmark. Virat Kohli is second with 15,002 and is the only active player with a realistic path to the record.
• Kohli holds the record for the fastest to every ODI milestone from 8,000 to 15,000 runs. He reached 15,000 in 303 innings; Tendulkar needed 377.
• Kohli also holds the record for most ODI centuries (55), six clear of Tendulkar’s 49.
• India dominates the all-time ODI run charts, with four players in the top 10.
• England’s ODI run records reflect scheduling priorities, not batting quality. Joe Root’s 7,885 runs would rank 15th on India’s list.
• Rohit Sharma’s 264 remains the highest individual score in ODI history. No one has come within 27 runs of it.
• Tendulkar’s Test record (15,921) is more vulnerable than his ODI record. Joe Root is the most realistic challenger.

Final word: The most runs in ODI cricket is not just a list of numbers. It is a record of who played the most, who scored the fastest, and who adapted best to a format that has changed more than any other in cricket. Tendulkar’s record will stand for a long time. Kohli’s pursuit of it will define the final chapter of his ODI career. Both stories are worth watching.

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