Only 12 batsmen in the history of the game have managed to score 20,000 runs or more in international cricket. No one can compete with India’s Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar for the most runs in international cricket. He is the only batter to have scored over 30,000 runs in international cricket. In fact, he has over 34 thousand runs to his name from 664 matches over the course of his 24-year career. The only other Indian batters on the list are Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid. Kohli has scored over 25,000 runs in international cricket and is the only batter on the list with an average of more than 50 in all formats. The list has some of the modern-day legends of the game like Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and AB de Villiers, among others.
List of Batters with Most Runs in International Cricket
| Player | Span | Matches | Runs | HS | Avg | 100/50 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (India) | 1989-2013 | 664 | 34357 | 248* | 48.52 | 100/164 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (ICC/SL/Asia) | 2000-2015 | 594 | 28016 | 319 | 46.77 | 63/153 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia/ICC) | 1995-2012 | 560 | 27483 | 257 | 45.95 | 71/146 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (Asia/Sri Lanka) | 1997-2015 | 652 | 25957 | 374 | 39.15 | 54/136 |
| Jacques Kallis (Africa/ICC/SA) | 1995-2014 | 519 | 25534 | 224 | 49.10 | 62/149 |
| Virat Kohli (India) | 2008-2023 | 493 | 25047 | 254* | 53.40 | 74/129 |
| Rahul Dravid (Asia/ICC/India) | 1996-2012 | 509 | 24208 | 270 | 45.41 | 48/146 |
| Brian Lara (ICC/WI) | 1990-2007 | 430 | 22358 | 400* | 46.28 | 53/111 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (Asia/SL) | 1989-2011 | 586 | 21032 | 340 | 34.14 | 42/103 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) | 1994-2015 | 454 | 20988 | 203* | 45.72 | 41/125 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq (Asia/ICC/Pak) | 1991-2007 | 499 | 20580 | 329 | 43.32 | 35/129 |
| AB de Villiers (Africa/SA) | 2004-2018 | 420 | 20014 | 278* | 48.11 | 47/109 |
