Most ODI Runs Ever: Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426 Leads All-Time List

Sachin Tendulkar holds the all-time record for most runs in One Day International cricket with 18,426, built across 463 matches between 1989 and 2012 — a total so far ahead of the field that, more than a decade after his retirement, the closest active player is still roughly 3,500 runs short of it. Below is the full ranked list of the top 12 ODI run-scorers of all time, verified against ESPNcricinfo’s official records, with an updated look at where Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stand as of 2026.

How This List Is Ranked

This list ranks players strictly by total ODI runs scored across their full international careers, as recorded by ESPNcricinfo and the ICC. It includes only men’s ODI cricket and does not blend in Test or T20I totals, or domestic List A runs. Figures for retired players are final; figures for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both still active in 2026, are marked and will keep climbing with every innings they play. Where sources disagreed on a handful of runs, we cross-checked against each player’s official career page and used the higher-confidence, most recently updated figure.

Most ODI Runs of All Time: Top 12

*Active player as of 2026; totals will continue to rise.

The Leading Run-Scorers, Explained

Sachin Tendulkar (India) is untouchable at the top with 18,426 runs and 49 centuries in 463 matches, a record built through two decades of scoring on every kind of surface against every attack in the world. No other player in ODI history has reached 15,000 runs, let alone 18,000.

Virat Kohli (India) passed Kumar Sangakkara for second place in 2024 and has since pushed his tally to 14,941 in just 314 matches — far fewer than anyone else near the top of this list needed. His average of 58.59 is the best of any batter with 50-plus ODI caps, and his highest batting average in ODI cricket ranking reflects that consistency. He also holds the record for most centuries in international cricket after breaking Tendulkar’s ODI hundred mark at the 2023 World Cup.

Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) finished with 14,234 runs as arguably the finest wicketkeeper-batter the format has produced, holding second place on this list for nearly a decade before Kohli overtook him.

Ricky Ponting (Australia) scored 13,704 runs while captaining Australia to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, combining a strong average with elite fielding and leadership.

Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) redefined ODI opening batting with his aggression in the 1990s, finishing with 13,430 runs and 28 centuries at a lower average but far higher strike rate than most of his era’s peers.

Rohit Sharma (India) rounds out the sub-top-tier with 11,895 runs, including three double-centuries — he still holds the highest individual score in ODI cricket at 264 not out.

2026 Update: Where Kohli and Rohit Stand Now

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remain active ODI players for India in 2026, having retired only from Tests and T20Is. Kohli, at 37, has been scoring heavily in recent ODI series, with three centuries in his last seven innings as of mid-2026, and was named in India’s June 2026 ODI squad. Rohit’s long-term place is less certain — BCCI officials and former captain Sourav Ganguly have both said neither player’s spot in the 2027 World Cup squad is guaranteed, given the sparse international ODI calendar between now and then. Kohli’s 14,941 runs still trail Tendulkar’s record by roughly 3,500, a gap that would require an exceptional final stretch of his career to close.

What It Takes to Reach the Top of the List

Every name on this list combined three things: a long international career, the physical durability to stay selected across 15 to 20 years, and the consistency to keep scoring in every condition. That is increasingly rare in the modern schedule, where boards prioritize T20 cricket and ODI fixtures have grown scarcer. It is one reason no current player outside Kohli is within realistic range of the top of this list, and why even Kohli’s push to second place, not first, took a Hall of Fame-caliber career to accomplish.

Why Tendulkar’s Record May Never Be Broken

Tendulkar needed 463 ODI appearances to reach 18,426 runs — a volume of matches that today’s international calendar rarely offers a single player anymore. Combine that shrinking supply of ODIs with the growing pull of T20 leagues on player scheduling, and the case for the record standing for decades longer only strengthens. For a look at the format’s other side of the ledger, see which batters piled up the most ODI runs without ever scoring a century.