Opening the batting in any format is a challenging task. That is because the ball is at its newest and the bowlers are at their freshest when you face them as an opener. Also, openers don’t have a complete idea how the pitch is going to behave, especially at the beginning of the innings.
Yet, this is the position where so many greats of the game have thrived. Indeed, it’s in the tough spots and situations that the best batters shine.
One among them is India’s Rohit Sharma, who recently became only the second Indian batsman to amass 16000 runs as an opener in international cricket.
Only six men are ahead of him on this tally, and Rohit already has two of them in his sight, and could go past at least three if he continues batting in full flow until the 2027 World Cup, which is his goal.
IND vs AFG: Rohit Sharma Reaches 16000 Runs As India Opener, Sehwag’s record in sight
The IND vs AFG 1st ODI at the HPCA Stadium on Saturday was chiselled down to a 25-over-per-team contest due to rain in Dharamsala. Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field first.
Afghanistan posted a decent total of 194 in their innings, handing India a target of 195 in 25 overs.
Rohit and Gill smoked a flurry of boundaries in the initial overs of the chase, with both openers striking at over 100. Rohit, in fact, smashed an enchanting sixer to medium pacer Azmatullah Omarzai, his trademark pull shot that went all the way.
With this six off Omarzai, Rohit went past the 16000-run mark as an opener for India. Among Indians, only Virender Sehwag had achieved this feat. Sehwag had aggregated 16119 runs as an opener in international cricket, and Rohit is likely to go past Sehwag’s record soon.
Right now, Rohit is India’s fourth-leading run-scorer in international cricket across formats – behind Tendulkar, Kohli, and Dravid – with more than 20,000 international runs under his belt.
For the first six years of his India career, Rohit batted mostly in the middle and lower-middle order. It was in 2013 at the ICC Champions Trophy that his career took a turn for good when MS Dhoni promoted him to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan. For the next six years and a bit, Rohit, Dhawan, and Kohli formed a great top-order trio before Dhawan was left out for Gill.
Even in the past six years, Rohit and Kohli have retained their spots through the sheer weight of their runs.
Rohit’s Test career took off when he returned to the side in 2019 as an opener. He had a great streak in Test cricket from 2019 to 2024 and was arguably the best Test opener during that period.
Who has scored the most runs as an opener in international cricket?
Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya holds the record for the most runs in international cricket by an opener with his 19298 runs, scored in 563 innings at the top, including 41 centuries and 95 fifties.
Behind Jayasuriya are Chris Gayle (18867), David Warner (18744), Graeme Smith (16950), Desmond Haynes (16120), Virender Sehwag (16119), and Rohit Sharma (16009*).
Top 7 Openers With Most Runs In International Cricket:
- Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka, Asia XI) – 19298 runs
- Chris Gayle (West Indies, ICC XI) – 18867 runs
- David Warner (Australia) – 18744 runs
- Graeme Smith (South Africa, ICC XI, Africa XI) – 16950 runs
- Desmond Haynes (West Indies) – 16120 runs
- Virender Sehwag (India, ICC XI, Asia XI) – 16119 runs
- Rohit Sharma (India) – 16009* runs
(Stats updated till 13 June 2026)
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