Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad and current England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler recently picked their top 10 Test batters of the 21st century on the For the Love of Cricket podcast. Their list featured three Indian batters, with Sachin Tendulkar taking the top spot ahead of several modern-day greats.
Virat Kohli was placed 10th on the list. The former India captain retired from Test cricket in 2025 after scoring 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85. His record includes 30 centuries and 31 fifties.
Rahul Dravid was ranked ninth. Widely regarded as one of India’s finest Test batters, Dravid finished his career with 13,288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31. He registered 36 hundreds and 63 half-centuries.
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South African greats AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis occupied eighth and seventh positions respectively. De Villiers scored 8,765 runs in 114 Tests at an average of 50.66, including 22 centuries and 46 fifties. Kallis, one of the greatest all-rounders in Test history, amassed 13,289 runs in 166 matches at an impressive average of 55.37, with 45 hundreds and 58 fifties.
Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara was sixth, having accumulated 12,400 runs in 134 Tests at an average of 57.40, including 38 centuries and 52 fifties.
Australia’s Ricky Ponting was fifth with 13,378 runs in 168 Tests, averaging 51.85. England’s Joe Root was ranked fourth after reaching 14,278 Test runs, with 41 centuries and 69 fifties.
Steve Smith and Brian Lara completed the top three, occupying third and second spots respectively. Smith has scored 10,920 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 56.00, while Lara finished with 11,953 runs at 52.88 and 34 centuries.
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Tendulkar topped the list after an extraordinary Test career spanning 200 matches. The former India batter remains the format’s leading run-scorer with 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78, including a record 51 centuries.
Joe Root has since become only the second batter to cross 14,000 Test runs. With 1,643 runs separating him from Tendulkar’s record, the England star remains the only active player with a realistic chance of challenging the mark. Root has scored 501 runs in seven Tests in 2026 at an average of 41.75, including one century and three fifties. England’s next Test assignment is against South Africa, beginning December 17, 2026.
