Top 10 players who have played most matches in international cricket

Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of playing most matches in International cricket.

Cricket has seen many players having long careers at a time when only Test cricket and domestic cricket were the major ways the game was played. However, as the game evolved and formats like the one-day internationals and the Twenty20 were introduced, cricketers found it hard to play everything everywhere.

However, still there were players who managed to handle the pressure of playing so many matches and managed to evolve themselves with respect to the need for more fitness and changes in their game, to adapt to the new techniques of modern games.

Therefore, keeping in mind, today we take a look at 10 players who have played the most international matches in their careers.

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10. Virat Kohli - 500 matches

The only active player in the top 10 list of players with the most matches in international cricket, Virat Kohli has played 500 matches for India thus far since making his debut in 2008 in an ODI.

Kohli has played 111 Tests, 274 ODIs, and 115 T20Is for India and has scored 8555, 12898 and 4008 runs respectively. He has also scored 75 centuries in international cricket and is in second place when it comes to most centuries in international cricket, behind the great Sachin Tendulkar, who has 100 international tons.

9. Rahul Dravid - 509 matches

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has played 509 international matches for India from 1996-2012. He had made an impressive debut in Tests against England in 1996 at Lord’s scoring 95 runs. And didn’t look back.

In all, he played 164 Tests, scoring 13288 runs with 36 centuries to his name. In 344 ODIs, Dravid scored 10889 runs with 12 centuries to his name, which also included the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in the format. He also got to play one T20I, scoring 31 runs.

Dravid was part of the Indian team which reached the final of the 2003 World Cup and jointly won the 2002 Champions Trophy. He captained the Indian team in the 2007 World Cup.

8. Jacques Kallis - 519 matches

Considered to be one of the all-time great all-rounders and often compared to the great Sir Garfield Sobers, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis played 519 international matches after having made his debut in 1995.

Despite being a fast-bowling all-rounder, Kallis played 166 Tests, scoring 13289 runs with 45 centuries and picking 292 wickets. In 328 ODIs, Kallis made 11579 runs with 17 centuries and took 273 wickets as well.

He also played 25 T20Is, scoring 666 runs and picking 12 wickets. Kallis retired from the game in 2014 and was part of South Africa’s only ICC trophy win, which came in 1998 when they lifted the Knockout Trophy in Bangladesh.

7. Shahid Afridi - 524 matches

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, better known as Shahid Afridi is considered to be perhaps the most popular Pakistani cricketer along with the great Imran Khan. He made an immediate impact when he scored the then fastest century in ODIs in 37 balls at the age of 16 in 1996 against Sri Lanka.

Despite multiple retirements and comebacks, Afridi managed to play 524 matches for Pakistan. He played 27 Tests in which he made 5 centuries. He was more effective in limited overs cricket, as in 398 ODIs, Afridi made 8064 runs with 6 centuries and 395 wickets with a best of 7/12.

In 99 T20Is, Afridi made 1416 runs and picked 98 wickets. He also captained Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup and 2016 T20 World Cup and was the best performer when the Men in Green won the 2009 T20 World Cup.  

6. MS Dhoni - 538 matches

MS Dhoni is considered to be one of the fittest cricketers in the game and is even active in the IPL despite crossing the age of 40. He had a decorated international career for India which began in 2004 and finished in 2019 in the World Cup.

In all, he played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, and 98 T20Is for India scoring 4876 runs, 10773 runs, and 1617 runs in total along with 16 centuries in international cricket. He also made 829 dismissals in international cricket, third-most behind Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist, but he is the only keeper to make more than 100 stumpings in ODIs.

5. Ricky Ponting - 560 matches

One of Australia’s greatest batters Ricky Ponting had a fruitful career that spanned from 1995-2012. Ponting also captained Australia to two World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007 and two Champions Trophy wins as well.

He was one of the best batters of his era and often competed for the best of the best tag with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

In all he played 560 games for Australia of which 168 were Tests, 375 were ODIs, and 17 T20I matches. In those matches, Ponting managed 13378 Test runs, 13704 runs in ODIs, and 401 in Tests with a total of 71 international centuries.

4. Sanath Jayasuriya - 586 matches

Sanath Jayasuriya began his career as a spinner who batted at no.8 and finished his career as one of the most dangerous openers in the world, who changed the scene in the first 15 overs of ODI cricket.

He was the Player of the Tournament in Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup win and was the first Sri Lankan to hit a triple century in Tests when he scored 340 against India in 1997.

In a career that spanned from 1989-2011, Jayasuriya played 110 Tests, making 9973 runs with 14 centuries to his name. In 445 ODIs, the southpaw slammed 13340 runs with 28 centuries with a best of 189*. And in 31 T20Is, he made 629 runs.

Apart from this, he picked 98 Test, 323 ODI, and 19 T20I wickets in his career.

3. Kumar Sangakkara - 594 matches

Kumar Sangakkara is often considered to be one of the most stylish batters to come out of Sri Lanka. He made his debut in 2000 and retired from the game in 2015, after hitting four centuries in that year’s ODI World Cup in Australia.

In 134 Tests he made 12400 runs with 38 centuries and he is one of the two batters to score a triple ton and a century in the same match after Graham Gooch. In 404 ODIs, Sangakkara made 14234 runs with 25 centuries, and in 56 T20Is, he made 1382 runs.

Sangakkara was part of Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup win and captained them to the final of the 2011 World Cup.

2. Mahela Jayawardene - 652 matches

Along with Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene was the pillar of the Sri Lankan batting in the 2000s and early 2010s. The brilliant batter made his Sri Lanka debut in 1997 and retired from eh game in 2015.

He captained the Sri Lankan team with much success, taking them to the final of the 2007 World Cup.

In all, Jayawardene played 652 matches for Sri Lanka in almost a 20-year career. He played 149 Tests scoring 11814 runs with 34 centuries and best score of 374. In 448 ODIs, Jayawardene scored 12650 runs with 19 centuries, and in 55 T20Is, he made 1493 runs with one century to his name.

1. Sachin Tendulkar - 664 matches

However, at the top of the mountain sits probably the greatest batter of the modern era in Sachin Tendulkar, whose career spanned 24 years, having made his debut in 1989 and calling time in 2013.

He played a record 200 Tests scoring a world record 15921 runs with 51 centuries to his name. He also played a record 463 ODIs, scoring another world record 18426 runs with 49 centuries, including the very first double ton in men’s ODIs.

Tendulkar also played one T20I, scoring 10 runs. He was also brilliant with the ball, taking 46 Test, 154 ODI and 1 T20I wicket in his career.