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Most Runs in Test Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar leads Test cricket with 15,921 runs; Joe Root is second at 14,278 and still active. Career Test runs for the 10,000 club, to Oct 2026.

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What the data shows

  • Sachin Tendulkar ranks #1 with 15,921, ahead of Joe Root (14,278) and Ricky Ponting (13,378).

About this chart

Sachin Tendulkar scored 15,921 Test runs in 200 Tests between 1989 and 2013, a record that is still 1,643 runs clear of the nearest challenger. Joe Root is second with 14,278 and still playing. Ricky Ponting follows on 13,378, and Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) are separated by a single run.

Alastair Cook has 12,472, Kumar Sangakkara 12,400 and Brian Lara 11,953. Steve Smith, also still active, has passed 10,000 with 11,003. The chart lists the top players in the 10,000-run club, using ESPNcricinfo data as compiled by Wikipedia on Oct 22, 2026. Virat Kohli, retired from Tests on 9,230, is not in the club. Tendulkar also holds the Test record of 51 centuries.

The data

Source: Wikipedia, 'List of players who have scored 10,000 or more runs in Test cricket' (updated 22 Oct 2026; ESPNcricinfo data); Root cross-checked with his Wikipedia infobox. Retrieved November 4, 2026. Reshaped to a static top-15 ranking: ESPNcricinfo Statsguru is no longer reachable and no sourceable year-by-year data was found. Joe Root and Steve Smith are still active. Kohli (9,230, retired) is not in the 10,000 club.

Most Runs in Test Cricket, Career Test runs, players with 10,000+ (to Oct 2026), Test runs
Date🇮🇳 Sachin Tendulkar🇬🇧 Joe Root🇦🇺 Ricky Ponting🇿🇦 Jacques Kallis🇮🇳 Rahul Dravid🇬🇧 Alastair Cook🇱🇰 Kumar Sangakkara🇹🇹 Brian Lara🇬🇾 Shivnarine Chanderpaul🇱🇰 Mahela Jayawardene🇦🇺 Allan Border🇦🇺 Steve Smith🇦🇺 Steve Waugh🇮🇳 Sunil Gavaskar🇵🇰 Younis Khan
Test runs15,92114,27813,37813,28913,28812,47212,40011,95311,86711,81411,17411,00310,92710,12210,099

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Frequently asked questions

Who has scored the most runs in Test cricket?

Sachin Tendulkar, with 15,921 runs in 200 Tests between 1989 and 2013. Joe Root is second with 14,278.

How many Test runs does Joe Root have?

Joe Root has 14,278 Test runs as of October 2026 and is still active. That is 1,643 behind Tendulkar's record.

How many centuries did Tendulkar score in Tests?

Sachin Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, which is also the Test record.

Where does this data come from?

Wikipedia, 'List of players who have scored 10,000 or more runs in Test cricket' (updated 22 Oct 2026; ESPNcricinfo data); Root cross-checked with his Wikipedia infobox. Retrieved November 4, 2026. Reshaped to a static top-15 ranking: ESPNcricinfo Statsguru is no longer reachable and no sourceable year-by-year data was found. Joe Root and Steve Smith are still active. Kohli (9,230, retired) is not in the 10,000 club. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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