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:
SN | BATSMEN | TEAM | MATCHES | INNINGS | NO | RUNS | HS | AVERAGE | 100s | 50s | 0s |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 123 | 194 | 22 | 9674 | 248* | 56.24 | 33 | 38 | 4 |
2 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 109 | 179 | 12 | 9399 | 374 | 56.28 | 28 | 42 | 8 |
3 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 98 | 165 | 13 | 9355 | 319 | 61.54 | 30 | 36 | 9 |
4 | Rahul Dravid | India | 95 | 160 | 16 | 7370 | 270 | 51.18 | 22 | 32 | 5 |
5 | Younis Khan | Pakistan | 75 | 133 | 14 | 6926 | 313 | 58.20 | 27 | 19 | 12 |
6 | Virender Sehwag | India | 68 | 114 | 5 | 6256 | 319 | 57.39 | 18 | 24 | 8 |
7 | Sunil Gavaskar | India | 79 | 133 | 10 | 6254 | 236* | 50.84 | 19 | 30 | 7 |
8 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 76 | 111 | 15 | 5492 | 280* | 57.20 | 14 | 28 | 2 |
9 | Angelo Mathews | Sri Lanka | 81 | 140 | 22 | 5450 | 199 | 46.18 | 10 | 31 | 5 |
10 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 75 | 124 | 9 | 5188 | 340 | 45.11 | 11 | 25 | 8 |
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’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
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:
SN | BATSMAN | TEAM | MATCHES | INNINGS | NO | RUNS | HS | AVERAGE | 100s | 50s | 0s |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 77 | 135 | 11 | 6247 | 241* | 50.37 | 18 | 30 | 10 |
2 | Rahul Dravid | India | 68 | 124 | 16 | 5895 | 233 | 54.58 | 14 | 31 | 2 |
3 | VVS Laxman | India | 61 | 108 | 11 | 4105 | 178 | 42.31 | 8 | 25 | 7 |
4 | Virat Kohli | India | 52 | 95 | 1 | 4079 | 200 | 43.39 | 13 | 16 | 8 |
5 | Sunil Gavaskar | India | 46 | 81 | 6 | 3868 | 221 | 51.57 | 15 | 15 | 5 |
6 | Inzamam ul Haq | Pakistan | 51 | 90 | 7 | 3725 | 148 | 44.87 | 10 | 21 | 5 |
7 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 48 | 78 | 6 | 3340 | 271 | 46.38 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
8 | Younis Khan | Pakistan | 43 | 80 | 5 | 3173 | 218 | 42.30 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
9 | Mohammad Yousuf | Pakistan | 37 | 69 | 2 | 3054 | 203 | 45.58 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
10 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 36 | 68 | 4 | 3045 | 270 | 47.57 | 8 | 16 | 2 |
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:
SN | BATSMEN | TEAM | MATCHES | INNINGS | NO | RUNS | HS | AVERAGE | 100s | 50s | 0s |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 200 | 329 | 33 | 15921 | 248* | 53.78 | 51 | 68 | 14 |
2 | Rahul Dravid | India | 163 | 284 | 32 | 13265 | 270 | 52.63 | 36 | 63 | 7 |
3 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 134 | 233 | 17 | 12400 | 319 | 57.40 | 38 | 52 | 11 |
4 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 149 | 252 | 15 | 11814 | 374 | 49.84 | 34 | 50 | 15 |
5 | Sunil Gavaskar | India | 125 | 214 | 16 | 10122 | 236* | 51.12 | 34 | 45 | 12 |
6 | Younis Khan | Pakistan | 118 | 213 | 19 | 10099 | 313 | 52.05 | 34 | 33 | 19 |
7 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 124 | 189 | 21 | 8832 | 280* | 52.57 | 23 | 43 | 6 |
8 | Inzamam ul Haq | Pakistan | 119 | 198 | 22 | 8829 | 329 | 50.16 | 25 | 46 | 15 |
9 | VVS Laxman | India | 134 | 225 | 34 | 8781 | 281 | 45.97 | 17 | 46 | 15 |
10 | Virat Kohli | India | 111 | 187 | 11 | 8676 | 254* | 49.29 | 29 | 29 | 14 |
Indices:- * (Not Out) / NO (Not Out) / Ave (Average) / HS (Highest Score) / 100s (Total Centuries) / 50s (Total Half Centuries) / 0s (Total Ducks)
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.
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