Ten thousand runs in Test cricket is an elite cricketing achievement, conquered only by very few legendary batsmen in the sport.
Joe Root, who is the 14th entry to the list, has taken 218 Test innings to reach the milestone number. Jacques Kallis, the former South African all-rounder, also took the same innings to reach the landmark.
The West Indian legendary batsman Brian Lara, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, and the master Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar are the fastest to reach 10K runs in terms of the number of Test innings – 195.
This article will rank the batsmen (in ascending) by the number of innings the batsmen have taken to reach the 10000 Test runs mark.
Fastest to 10000 Runs in Test Cricket
| Batter | Innings Taken | Avg When They Reached 10000 Runs | Total Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Lara (WI) | 195 | 52.91 | 11953 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 195 | 55.8 | 12400 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 195 | 57.58 | 15921 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 196 | 58.72 | 13378 |
| Steven Smith (AUS) | 205 | 56.33 | 10271 |
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | 206 | 55.41 | 13288 |
| Younis Khan (PAK) | 208 | 52.84 | 10099 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 210 | 50.72 | 11814 |
| Sunil Gavaskar (IND) | 212 | 51.04 | 10122 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 217 | 54.37 | 13289 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 218 | 49.57 | 12972 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 229 | 46.49 | 12472 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 235 | 52.08 | 11174 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) | 239 | 50.02 | 11867 |
| Steve Waugh (AUS) | 244 | 49.45 | 10927 |
Stats Insights
Ricky Ponting has had the best average while reaching the 10K mark among all the names in the above list. However, with 8000+ runs and an average of around 60, Steve Smith has the best chance to beat Ponting in this stat.
In addition, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have the best chance to break the feat of reaching 10000 runs in just 195 Test innings.
Only 7 players in the above list have also been featured in ODI’s 10K club list.
Virat Kohli is the fastest to 10000 runs in ODI in terms of both innings played and years taken to achieve the feat.
Joe Root is the youngest to reach the landmark 5-digit runs tally – the record he shares with the other English batter Alastair Cook, who also took 31 years 157 days to achieve the feat. They are followed by Sachin Tendulkar (31 years 326 days), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (33 years 133 days), and Australia’s Ricky Ponting (33 years 163 days).
Also, Joe Root is the first and only batsman to score 10000 Test runs in less than a decade.
