In-Depth Stats

The Top 10 Asian Batsmen in Test Cricket [Statistically]

Test cricket is considered the toughest format among the three formats as it truly tests the patience, grit, and ability of the players. That’s why not many can overcome the challenges of Test cricket and those who can are etched in the history books forever.

One of the reasons for failure of several good players in Test cricket is the inability to adapt in foreign conditions, especially for batsmen from the Asian continent. But, as aforementioned, there have been a few endowed personalities who have performed exceedingly well at home conditions as well as overseas. 

In this piece we’ll be trying to figure out the top 10 Asian batsmen analyzing the performances in Asian conditions and non-Asian conditions.


In Asian Conditions

Since we are talking about the Asian batsmen in Asian conditions, the numbers are certain to be brilliant.

Here are the top 10 Asian batsmen in Asian conditions:

SNBATSMENTEAMMATCHESINNINGSNORUNSHSAVERAGE100s50s0s
1Sachin TendulkarIndia123194229674248*56.2433384
2Mahela JayawardeneSri Lanka10917912939937456.2828428
3Kumar SangakkaraSri Lanka9816513935531961.5430369
4Rahul Dravid India9516016737027051.1822325
5Younis KhanPakistan7513314692631358.20271912
6Virender SehwagIndia681145625631957.3918248
7Sunil GavaskarIndia79133106254236*50.8419307
8Javed MiandadPakistan76111155492280*57.2014282
9Angelo MathewsSri Lanka8114022545019946.1810315
10Sanath JayasuriyaSri Lanka751249518834045.1111258
Table1: Top 10 Asian Batsmen With Most Runs In Asia
Indices:- * (Not Out) / NO (Not Out) / Ave (Average) / HS (Highest Score) / 100s (Total Centuries) / 50s (Total Half Centuries) / 0s (Total Ducks)

Highlights

  • Among Asian batsmen with more than 2000 runs in Asia, Kumar Sangakkara has the highest average of 61.54.

    Mahela Jayawardene - Kumar Sangakkara
  • Mahela Jayawardene’s highest Test score (374) is also the highest Test score by an Asian batsman as well as in Asian conditions.
  • 96 Asian batsmen have scored more than 1500 runs in Asia. Among them:
    • 35 are Pakistani batsmen
    • 31 are Indian batsmen
    • 23 are Sri Lankan batsmen
    • 7 are Bangladeshi batsmen
  • With 27 hundreds and just 19 fifties, Younis Khan has the best conversion rate among all the Asian batsmen.
  • On a contrasting note, Younis also has the most number of ducks by an Asian batsman in Asia among those with 4000+ runs, followed by Tilakaratne Dilshan who has 11 ducks in 63 matches.
  • Virender Sehwag has the least number of not-out innings (5) among Asian batsmen with over 4000 runs in Asia.

In Non-Asian Conditions

Sachin Unbreakable Test cricket records
Sachin Tendulkar – Asian Batsman with the Most Runs in Non-Asian conditions

While travelling, Asian batsmen have been found struggling. The numbers, too, are a bit less appealing than the numbers in Asia.

Here are the top 10 Asian batsmen in Non-Asian conditions:

SNBATSMANTEAMMATCHESINNINGSNORUNSHSAVERAGE100s50s0s
1Sachin Tendulkar India77135116247241*50.37183010
2Rahul DravidIndia6812416589523354.5814312
3VVS LaxmanIndia6110811410517842.318257
4Virat KohliIndia52951407920043.3913168
5Sunil GavaskarIndia46816386822151.5715155
6Inzamam ul HaqPakistan51907372514844.8710215
7Javed MiandadPakistan48786334027146.389154
8Younis KhanPakistan43805317321842.307147
9Mohammad YousufPakistan37692305420345.588158
10Kumar SangakkaraSri Lanka36684304527047.578162
Table2: Top 10 Asian Batsmen With Most Runs Outside Asia
Indices:- * (Not Out) / NO (Not Out) / Ave (Average) / HS (Highest Score) / 100s (Total Centuries) / 50s (Total Half Centuries) / 0s (Total Ducks)

Highlights:

  • Among Asian batsmen with more than 2000 runs outside Asia, Rahul Dravid has the highest average of 54.58.
  • 45 Asian batsmen have scored more than 1500 Test runs outside Asia. Among them:
    • 19 are Pakistani batsmen
    • 15 are Indian batsmen
    • 10 are Sri Lankan batsmen
    • 1 is Bangladeshi batsman (Tamim Iqbal- 1548 runs)
  • Indian Captain Virat Kohli leads the chart of Asian batsmen with most Test runs outside Asia among active players with 3274 runs, followed by his compatriot as well as deputy Ajinkya Rahane (2205 runs).
  • Mahela Jayawardene, Virender Sehwag, and Sanath Jayasuriya are the three batsmen who featured in the top 10 list in Asian conditions but not in this list.
    • Jayasuriya’s average outside Asia is 30.25, which is 15 less than his average in Asia.
    • Mahela’s average outside Asia is 34.50, which is 20 less than his average in Asia.
    • Sehwag’s average outside Asia is 35.66 which is 22 less than his average in Asia.
  • Inzamam ul Haq is the only batsman from the above list who hasn’t scored a double hundred outside Asia.
  • Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan) is the only Asian batsman to score a triple century (337) outside Asia.
  • Among active players, Azhar Ali’s 205* is the highest individual score by an Asian batsman outside Asia.
  • With just 1 half century and 5 centuries, current Indian coach Ravi Shastri has the best 50 to 100 conversion rate among all the Asian batsmen in non-Asian conditions.

Overall

Combining the performances in Asia and outside Asia, here are the top 10 Asian batsmen with most runs in Test cricket:

SNBATSMENTEAMMATCHESINNINGSNORUNSHSAVERAGE100s50s0s
1Sachin TendulkarIndia2003293315921248*53.78516814
2Rahul DravidIndia163284321326527052.6336637
3Kumar SangakkaraSri Lanka134233171240031957.40385211
4Mahela JayawardeneSri Lanka149252151181437449.84345015
5Sunil GavaskarIndia1252141610122236*51.12344512
6Younis KhanPakistan118213191009931352.05343319
7Javed MiandadPakistan124189218832280*52.5723436
8Inzamam ul Haq Pakistan11919822882932950.16254615
9VVS LaxmanIndia13422534878128145.97174615
10Virat KohliIndia111187118676254*49.29292914
Table3: Top 10 Asian batsmen with most runs in Test Cricket
Indices:- * (Not Out) / NO (Not Out) / Ave (Average) / HS (Highest Score) / 100s (Total Centuries) / 50s (Total Half Centuries) / 0s (Total Ducks)
Sehwag 309 in Multan

Highlights:

Only 13 batsmen have aggregated more than 10 thousand runs in Test cricket. Out of those 13, 6 are Asian batsmen.

Virender Sehwag is the only Asian batsman to score 2 triple centuries in Test cricket. Don Bradman, Chris Gayle, and Brian Lara also have 2 triple centuries each to their names.

Kumar Sangakkara’s average of 57.40 is the highest in Test cricket for any Asian batsman.

51 centuries by Sachin Tendulkar is the most by anyone in Test cricket history.


Wrap Up

There is no denying that Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman ever, but everyone would agree when I say that Rahul Dravid should also be considered as great as Tendulkar is considered to be. Kumar Sangakkara is another player who doesn’t get enough credits for his marvelous contribution for the Lankan Lions.

Talking about the present generation, it won’t be a surprise to see Virat Kohli gets into all top 10 list in a short while after international cricket resumes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *