The true sign of a batter’s success lies in their consistency with the bat. After all, that’s what sets them apart from other batters and places them among the elites.
Such batters leave a larger impact on their team’s performances by accumulating runs match after match. A few batters have shown their batting mastery by amassing 2000+ international runs the most times, year after year.
So, here are the top 10 batters with the most 2000 runs in a calendar year in all formats.
Most 2000 Runs in a Calendar Year (All Formats Combined)
| Player | Most Times 2000 Runs | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 7 | 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 6 | 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 5 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 5 | 2001, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014 |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 4 | 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007 |
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 4 | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 4 | 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 4 | 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010 |
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | 3 | 1999, 2002, 2006 |
| Mohammad Yousuf (PAK) | 3 | 2000, 2002, 2006 |
Key Insights
7: Virat Kohli became the first batter to amass 2000-plus runs in international cricket in seven different calendar years.
5: There are four Asian batters who have scored 2000+ runs in five or more calendar years. Two batters hail from India, while the other two are from Sri Lanka, which indicates how good batters these two countries have produced over time.
4: The four years between 2016 and 2019 were the purple patch of Kohli’s career. The Indian batting maestro is the only batter to score 2000+ international runs in four consecutive years. Moreover, he has scored 2500+ runs in three years, making him the only batter to cross that mark three times.
3: Before Kohli’s rampage, Sachin Tendulkar hammered 2000 runs in three consecutive calendar years (1996, 1997, and 1998) and became the first batter to do so. One year that shines prominently among them is 1998, when he scored 1894 runs, the most ODI runs in a single year by any batter.
2833: Australia’s former skipper, Ricky Ponting, holds the record for amassing the most runs in a calendar year in all formats of the game. In 2005, Ponting scored a whopping 2833 runs in 58 innings at an impressive average of 56.66.
Read Next | ODI Wicketkeeper Records – A Statistical Breakdown
