First-Class Crickets Greatest Run Scorers

Sunil Gavaskar, known as the Little Master, stands first on the list of India’s first-class cricket run scorers with over 25,000 runs in 348 matches. His long career showed how steady and patient batting can bring great success in this format. Many players in the future would look up to his way of building innings and staying at the crease for long hours.

Gavaskar was born on 10 July 1949. He played for both the Indian national team and Mumbai from 1971 until 1987. Many cricket followers see him as one of the best opening batters of all time. His strong technique helped him face the fast bowlers of his era, and his record against the West Indies shows this well. He reached an average of 65.45 against them. Some of his hundreds came when the West Indies’ strongest fast bowlers were not playing together, but his overall performances against them stayed at a high level.

His time as captain changed the Indian team’s style. India won the 1984 Asia Cup and the 1985 World Championship of Cricket under his leadership. Still, there were periods when the captaincy shifted between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. One of these changes happened only six months before Kapil led India to the 1983 World Cup title.

Outside cricket, Gavaskar was once the Sheriff of Mumbai. His work and skill on the cricket field were honoured with awards like the Arjuna Award and the Padma Bhushan. In 2009, his name was added to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, and in 2012, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, which is the highest recognition from the BCCI for former players. Fans and cricket experts often called him Sunny, and that name is still linked to him today.

Sachin Tendulkar is just behind Sunil Gavaskar on the list of top first-class run scorers in India. Tendulkar scored more than 25,000 runs in 310 matches. His records in first-class cricket, combined with his long international career, have placed him among the most respected players in the game’s history.

Born on 24 April 1973, Tendulkar started playing cricket at the age of eleven. At sixteen, he made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi. From there, Tendulkar built a career that lasted over 24 years. He represented both Mumbai in domestic cricket and India in international matches. Many cricket followers call him one of the greatest players of all time. He holds many world records, including the highest number of runs in both ODI and Test cricket. Tendulkar is also the only batter in the world to reach 100 international centuries.

His impact was not limited to cricket grounds. Tendulkar served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha between 2012 and 2018 after being nominated by the President. He also played key roles in many big cricket moments. In the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, India shared the title with Sri Lanka, and Tendulkar was part of that team. In 2011, he was in the Indian squad that won the Cricket World Cup. His efforts in the 2003 World Cup were also praised, as he became the Player of the Tournament.

During his career, Tendulkar received several national awards, such as the Arjuna Award in 1994, the Khel Ratna Award in 1997, the Padma Shri in 1998, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. After his last match in November 2013, the Indian government announced that Tendulkar would receive the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. He became the first sportsperson to receive it and, as of 2024, is still the youngest to get this award.

Time magazine named Tendulkar among the most influential people in the world in 2010. In the same year, he won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the ICC Cricketer of the Year. Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket in 2012 and finished his full cricket career in November 2013 after playing his 200th Test match. Across all formats, he appeared in 664 international matches and scored 34,357 runs. In 2013, Wisden selected him in the all-time Test World XI, placing him next to Viv Richards as one of the top batters from the post-World War II era. In 2019, Tendulkar’s name was added to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Rahul Dravid was born on 11 January 1973 and grew up in Bangalore in a Marathi family. He started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later played for Karnataka at the under-15, under-17, and under-19 levels. His cricket journey began with local matches, but his patience and strong focus soon took him to the highest level. Across his career, Dravid became one of the most respected players in Indian cricket, both as a batter and as a leader. Many cricket followers know him as Mr. Dependable and The Wall.

In first-class cricket, Dravid scored 23,794 runs in less than 300 matches. In international cricket, his total reached 24,177 runs. In 2000, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack selected him as one of the five best cricketers of the year. Four years later, he was named the ICC Player of the Year and the ICC Test Player of the Year. In December 2011, he delivered the Bradman Oration in Canberra, becoming the first non-Australian to receive this honour.

Dravid’s calm style at the crease helped him build long innings across different conditions. In 2004, he became the first player to score centuries in all Test-playing countries at that time. As of January 2022, his name stood as the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis. He also holds the record for the most catches by a non-wicket-keeper in Test matches, with 210 catches. Throughout his 286 Test innings, Dravid never got out for a golden duck. His time spent at the crease was unmatched, as he faced 31,258 balls and stayed at the crease for 44,152 minutes, both of which remain the highest in Test cricket history.

Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar built the strongest partnership in Test cricket, scoring 6,920 runs together. In August 2011, he made a surprise return to the ODI team for the England series, and soon after that, he announced his retirement from ODIs and T20Is. In March 2012, he finished his international and first-class cricket career.

After his retirement, Dravid captained Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He later worked with young Indian cricketers as a coach and mentor. He helped the India Under-19 team win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup and also worked with India A and the National Cricket Academy. As the head coach, he guided the senior Indian team to the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup victory.

His long list of awards includes the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013. Dravid also received recognition at the Bradman Awards in Sydney in 2012, where he was honoured alongside Glenn McGrath. In 2014, he joined the GoSports Foundation and started working with young Indian athletes, supporting future Olympians and Paralympians. Some of the first athletes to work with him were badminton player Prannoy Kumar, para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad, and golfer S. Chikkarangappa. In July 2018, Dravid’s name was added to the ICC Hall of Fame.

Cheteshwar Pujara reached the 20,000-run mark in first-class cricket and now stands among India’s greatest batters. His recent success came during the 2024 Ranji Trophy, where he played a key innings that helped Saurashtra win. This performance started fresh discussions about his return to the Indian Test team. His steady scoring and calm batting style have kept him close to the top names in Indian cricket.

Born on 25 January 1988, Pujara played for the Indian national team for more than thirteen years. He became a well-known name in first-class cricket and spent most of his career with Saurashtra in domestic matches. He also played for Sussex in the English County Championship. His patient approach and strong defensive game made him an important part of India’s Test side for over a decade. Pujara crossed 100 Test appearances for India, and his batting played a big role in India’s first-ever Test series win in Australia during the 2018-19 tour.

His first-class journey began in December 2005 when he played for Saurashtra. He made his Test debut in October 2010 in Bangalore. He also played five ODI matches for India. In the summer of 2010, he was part of the India A squad that toured England, where he finished as the top scorer. The BCCI awarded him a D grade contract in October 2011. Cricket experts saw him as a key option to fill the middle order after the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Pujara was also part of the Chennai Super Kings squad that won the IPL in 2021.

Pujara returned to the Indian Test team in August 2012 against New Zealand and scored a century. In November 2012, he reached his first double century against England in Ahmedabad, and he followed this with another double hundred against Australia in March 2013. Both innings helped India secure victories, and in both matches, Pujara was named man of the match.

In the 2012 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, Pujara led the scoring charts with two centuries and a half-century. He quickly reached 1,000 runs in Test cricket, achieving this in just eleven matches and eighteen innings. In 2013, the ICC named him the Emerging Cricketer of the Year.

In February 2017, during a Test against Bangladesh, he broke the long-standing record for the most runs by a batter in an Indian first-class season. His total of 1,605 runs passed the previous record of 1,604 runs set by Chandu Borde in the 1964–65 season. In November 2017, Pujara reached his twelfth double century in first-class cricket, breaking Vijay Merchant’s record for the most double centuries by an Indian batter.

In March 2022, the BCCI awarded him a Grade B contract. But after a difficult period, Pujara was dropped from the Indian national team following his disappointing performance in the 2023 World Test Championship Final. Even though he faced some tough phases, Pujara’s name remains strong in Indian first-class cricket with his long career and solid records.

Wasim Jaffer was born on 16 February 1978. He played as a right-handed opening batsman and occasionally bowled right-arm off-spin. Though his international career ended when he was 29, Jaffer earned a legendary status in India’s domestic cricket. He holds the record for the most runs scored in the Ranji Trophy, with 19,410 runs, including 57 centuries and 91 half-centuries.

Within Indian first-class cricket, Jaffer scored 14,609 runs, the highest by any player, which included 46 hundreds and 65 fifties. In 2011, he became the top scorer in Ranji Trophy history, passing Amol Muzumdar. By November 2018, he became the first batsman to reach 11,000 runs in the tournament. In January 2019, Jaffer set a new record for the most Ranji Trophy appearances, playing his 146th match and surpassing Devendra Bundela.

After retiring from playing in March 2020, Jaffer moved into coaching. He worked as batting coach for Bangladesh’s national team and became batting consultant for their Under-19 side. In June 2020, he took the head coach role for Uttarakhand but resigned in February 2021, citing interference and bias in team selection. In July 2021, he became head coach of Odisha with a two-year contract.