A good batter is generally considered great when they hit the 10000 runs mark in the format. Sunny Gavaskar was the first cricketer to reach 10000 runs in Test cricket. There have been many entrants to the club in the longest format since then. The number of players who have reached the mark in the ODI format is even lesser. It becomes a very exclusive club if one has to count players who have scored 10000 Runs In Tests And ODIs.
We look at those 7 players who are part of this elite club:
#7 Mahela Jayawardene (Tests: 11,814 runs | ODIs: 12,212 runs)
He is one of the most naturally gifted players. Mahela Jayawardene was a silken wonder. He was a giant, especially in Asian conditions. Mahela along with Sangakkara fashioned many Lankan victories. He didn’t have a solid start to his career but came into his own in the 2000s. Jayawardene went on to score 10000+ runs in both Tests and ODIs. He notched up 11,814 in Tests and 12,212 runs in ODIs.
#6 Brian Lara (Tests: 11,953 runs | ODIs: 10,405 runs)
One of the greatest entertainers of the modern game, Brian Charles Lara was genius personified. He played with supreme flair. Lara was one of the last greats who excelled even in tough subcontinental conditions. He was possibly the only one who had the measure of both Warne and Muralitharan. Lara never compromised style for consistency. He married them beautifully. The Prince of Trinidad as he was fondly called finished with 11,953 Test runs. He notched up 10,405 ODI runs.
#5 Kumar Sangakkara (Tests: 11,988 runs | ODIs: 13,136 runs)
He is arguably the most prolific left-hander to have ever played the game. Kumar Sangakkara started off playing in the lower middle order. He soon started batting on a different level altogether. Sangakkara was one of those rare Lankan batsmen who had a terrific record overseas too. He finished with a career-high of notching up 4 back to back centuries in the 2015 World Cup. Sangakkara finished with 11,988 runs in Tests and 13,136 runs in ODIs.
#4 Rahul Dravid (Tests: 13,288 runs | ODIs: 10,889 runs)
Not many might be aware that Rahul Dravid was a legend in the ODI format too. Rahul Dravid was India’s technically most solid player without an iota of doubt. He was called the Wall and Mr. Dependable. Dravid accumulated 13,288 runs in Tests. He compiled 10,889 runs in ODIs. There is little doubt that if he batted in any other era, he would have been the best batsman on his team.
#3 Jacques Kallis (Tests: 13,289 runs | ODIs: 11,579 runs)
He was cheekily referred to as the combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan. If one has to purely go by numbers, there can’t be a better allrounder than Jacques Kallis. The South African legend often competed with the best in the world. He did reign supreme as the numero uno Test batter in the latter part of the 2000s. Kallis notched up a huge volume of runs in both formats of the game. He scored 13,289 runs in Tests while scoring 11,579 runs in ODIs.
#2 Ricky Ponting (Tests: 13,378 runs | ODIs: 13,704 runs)
He was the most dominant batter across formats in the 2000s. Ricky Ponting was everything Australia stood for in their glorious run. Ponting was a big-match player. Nobody could forget his iconic 140* against India in the 2003 World Cup finals. Ponting finished a wonderful second to the master in terms of runs scored. He amassed 13,378 runs in Tests and 13,704 runs in ODIs.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (Tests: 15,921 runs | ODIs: 18,426 runs)
There could have been no other number one on this list. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born to play cricket. He debuted at the age of 16. Tendulkar smashed centuries in England and Australia when he was not even a teen. He was always destined for great things.
Tendulkar’s knocks in the 90s in Sharjah, Chennai, and MCG had caught the imagination of every cricket fan. He topped it up in the next decade as well. Tendulkar finished with an unimaginable 15,921 Test runs. If that wasn’t enough, he tallied 18,426 ODI runs!
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