Sachin Tendulkar
Jacques Kallis
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Sachin Tendulkar leads 2 of 2 categories. Our all-time ranking places Sachin Tendulkar at #2 and Jacques Kallis at #7.
Head-to-head FAQ
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The case for Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run-scorer the game has known. Across a 24-year international career he amassed 34,357 runs, 15,921 in Tests and 18,426 in ODIs, both records, and scored 100 international centuries, a milestone no one else has reached. He played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, carrying the expectations of a cricket-obsessed nation from the age of sixteen. He finished his ODI career holding the first men's ODI double century, 200 not out against South Africa in 2010. Tendulkar's technique was near-flawless against pace and spin alike, and his straight drive became an emblem of orthodox batting. He finally won the World Cup at home in 2011, in his sixth attempt, on a wave of national emotion. For sheer weight of runs and longevity at the top, he is without peer.
The case for Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis was the most complete all-rounder of the modern era and, statistically, one of the greatest cricketers ever. He scored 13,289 Test runs at 55.37 with 45 centuries, figures that alone would rank him among the finest batsmen, and took 292 Test wickets with genuine fast-medium pace, plus over 200 catches at slip. Across formats he passed 25,000 international runs and 500 wickets, a double no one else has achieved at that level. Kallis batted with granite orthodoxy for South Africa, often anchoring the order, while his bowling gave his captain a genuine extra seam option. Undemonstrative and sometimes overlooked beside flashier contemporaries, he compiled a body of work whose sheer breadth, elite batting and Test-class bowling sustained for two decades, is arguably unmatched in the game's history.