Cricket has historically conceived to be a game where the batsmen have a lot of advantage, but when it comes to actually getting out on the field and doing it, there are only a handful of batsmen who are able to score the mountains of runs that a handful of batsmen are able to. Here’s a look at the names of the 5 players who managed to score 25,000 runs in international cricket.
5. Jacques Kallis
Arguably one of the best all-rounders to have played the game of cricket, Jacques Kallis is the 5th highest run-getter in international cricket and the first entrant in this list of the players with over 25,000 runs in international cricket.
Having mastered the art of bowling as well as bowling, Kallis in his heydays was a player who could win matches for his team with both the bat and the ball in hand. In his 19 year-long international career, he scored as many as 25,534 runs in total. En route to his total, he scored 62 centuries in total and 49 half-centuries, taking wickets all along too.
4. Mahela Jayawardene
Holder of a number of records as a batsman, Mahela Jayawardene was one of the best batsmen of his generation and is the second player to make his way into this list of the batsmen who have achieved the feat of scoring over 25,000 runs while playing international cricket.
An elegant and innovative stroke maker who could score mountains of runs in the most adverse situations, Jayawardene everywhere he went got nothing but words of praise from the fans and the analysts. Having been a part of 652 matches in total, he before calling it a day on his international career, scored 25,957 runs at an average of 64.73.
3. Ricky Ponting
The man who led Australia to some of their most glorious wins through the years, Ricky Ponting, often regarded to be a generational talent, having scored 27,483 runs in the 560 matches in international cricket, comes in at number 3 in this list.
His pull shots remain to be one of the most memorable moments in the minds of every cricket fan who watched him play during his days, and the uncompromising nature that he had when he stepped on to the field is still something that many cricket players at the highest level look up to. Sitting only below Bradman in the overall ratings, Ricky Ponting will go down in history as a master of the sport.
2. Kumar Sangakkara
The second player from the Sri Lankan cricket team to make it into this list, with more than 25,000 runs in international cricket, Kumar Sangakkara is the batsman to make it into this list of legends of the sport of cricket.
Even though he is significantly behind in his tally when compared with the batsman at the pole position, there is no doubt that he could make it to the spot with not much effort. Sangakkara played at the highest level for a period of 15 years and in all those years, he did not seem to have fallen out of his best form, be it with the bat or behind the wickets with the gloves on. Since making his debut in the year 2000 and retiring in 2015, he played 594 matches and scored 28,016 runs in total making his way into this list.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Called to be the ‘God of Cricket’ by his fans and experts of the game, Sachin Tendulkar is the batsman holding the top spot in this list of batsmen who have scored 25,000 runs in international cricket throughout their careers.
While batting, Sachin seemed to be meditating and the time he spent on the crease during his 664 matches went by like a breeze. The tally that he has to his name is a testament to how he enjoyed the game, as he scored 34,357 runs including a record 100 centuries throughout the formats. A holder of several records Sachin’s time in international cricket where he toiled hard remains to be one of the most cherished moments in the sport of cricket.
