Former Pakistan batter Mohammed Yousuf holds the record for most runs scored in a calendar year in Test cricket, with 1788 in 2006. Sir Viv Richards, a West Indian batting legend, is ranked second, having scored 1710 runs in 1976. England’s run-machine Joe Root is ranked third, with 1708 runs in 2021. The batters with the most test runs in a calendar year are listed below.
| Player | Year | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 |
| Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) | 2006 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 1788 | 202 | 99.33 | 2854 | 62.64 | 9 | 3 |
| Viv Richards (West Indies) | 1976 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 1710 | 291 | 90 | 1584+ | 72.85* | 7 | 5 |
| Joe Root (England) | 2021 | 15 | 29 | 1 | 1708 | 228 | 61 | 3004 | 56.85 | 6 | 4 |
| Graeme Smith (South Africa) | 2008 | 15 | 25 | 2 | 1656 | 232 | 72 | 2516 | 65.81 | 6 | 6 |
| Michael Clarke (Australia) | 2012 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 1595 | 329* | 106.33 | 2418 | 65.96 | 5 | 3 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (India) | 2010 | 14 | 23 | 3 | 1562 | 214 | 78.1 | 2794 | 55.9 | 7 | 5 |
| Sunil Gavaskar (India) | 1979 | 18 | 27 | 1 | 1555 | 221 | 59.8 | 2433+ | 47.43* | 5 | 8 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 2005 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 1544 | 207 | 67.13 | 2518 | 61.31 | 6 | 6 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 2003 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 1503 | 257 | 100.2 | 2494 | 60.26 | 6 | 4 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | 2014 | 12 | 22 | 1 | 1493 | 319 | 71.09 | 2707 | 55.15 | 4 | 9 |
