Published on : October 1st, 2026

Most Runs in ODI Career: Top 10 Run Scorers in ODI Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs in ODI cricket, finishing his career with 18,426 runs. Virat Kohli is now second with 15,080, after becoming only the second batter to cross 15,000 ODI runs. Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting and Sanath Jayasuriya follow them on the all-time list.

Kohli reached the 15,000 mark on September 27, 2026, against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram. He did not just reach the milestone and walk away either. He finished the chase unbeaten on 139 from 88 balls, his 55th ODI hundred.

Top ODI run-scorers:

Rank	Player	Country	ODI runs
1	Sachin Tendulkar	India	18,426
2	Virat Kohli	India	15,080
3	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	14,234
4	Ricky Ponting	Australia	13,704
5	Sanath Jayasuriya	Sri Lanka	13,430
6	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	12,650
7	Rohit Sharma	India	11,927
8	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Pakistan	11,739
9	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	11,579
10	Sourav Ganguly	India	11,363

Career figures from current ODI records, September 2026.

Tendulkar's 18,426 runs:

There is a reason the number 18,426 keeps coming up in ODI batting records. Tendulkar played 463 ODIs between 1989 and 2012. He had 49 centuries and scored runs across a career that lasted more than 20 years. His record was not built around one particular phase of his career. He kept coming back and scoring.

Then came 2010. Tendulkar made 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior, becoming the first men's ODI batter to reach a double century. It was another landmark attached to an already enormous career. For now, his 18,426 remains the highest ODI run tally.

Kohli crosses 15,000:

Kohli's move into the 15,000-run club happened in a rather Kohli-like fashion. India were chasing 296 against West Indies. Kohli reached the milestone during the chase and kept going. By the end, he was unbeaten on 139 from 88 balls, and India won by eight wickets. He got to 15,000 ODI runs in 315 innings, the fastest any batter has reached the mark.

The bigger picture is simple: Tendulkar is still well ahead on total runs, but Kohli has already separated himself from the players below him. And there is another number beside Kohli's name now ? 55 ODI centuries.

The next three names:

Kumar Sangakkara finished with 14,234 runs for Sri Lanka. Ricky Ponting ended on 13,704, while Sanath Jayasuriya finished with 13,430. There is not a massive gap between those three. Sangakkara leads Ponting by 530 runs, and Ponting is only 274 ahead of Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya's place on the list is especially interesting. He was one of the aggressive opening batters who changed the way teams approached the early overs of an ODI innings. Ponting's name brings a different memory ? Australia's long period at the top of world cricket. Sangakkara combined big batting numbers with a long career as Sri Lanka's wicketkeeper-batter.

India has four names in the top 10:

India appears four times in the current top 10:

Sachin Tendulkar ? 18,426
Virat Kohli ? 15,080
Rohit Sharma ? 11,927
Sourav Ganguly ? 11,363

Rohit is seventh overall. His ODI career has another unusual number attached to it: 264, his score against Sri Lanka and the highest individual score in men's ODI cricket. Ganguly is tenth. He played his last ODI in 2007, yet his 11,363 runs still keep him inside this group.

Most runs does not mean most hundreds:

This is where the numbers get a little more interesting.

Player	ODI runs	ODI hundreds
Sachin Tendulkar	18,426	49
Virat Kohli	15,080	55
Kumar Sangakkara	14,234	25
Ricky Ponting	13,704	30
Sanath Jayasuriya	13,430	28

Kohli has more ODI hundreds than Tendulkar, but Tendulkar has considerably more total runs. That is not really surprising when you think about how a career is built. A batter does not need to score 100 every time to add heavily to a career total. Thirty, 60, 80 and 90 all count. That is also why run totals, hundreds, average and strike rate are better viewed together.

What makes the 18,000-run mark so difficult?

Longevity is a big part of it. A batter needs to stay good for years, keep getting selected, avoid long interruptions and keep producing enough runs when the opportunities come. The list itself shows how rare that combination is. Only Tendulkar has gone beyond 18,000 ODI runs, and only Kohli has joined him beyond 15,000.

For fans, that makes the ODI run chart more than just a list of numbers. It is almost a record of different generations of the format ? Tendulkar's era, Australia's great years, Sri Lanka's strong batting period, and now Kohli and India's modern ODI side.