15,921 Test runs | Do you see anyone past Kohli/Smith having a real shot at this record?

[Bhaijaan]

16 year old test debutants seem like a thing of the distant past. Forget 16 even 19-20 year old test batsmen are a rare thing now. Even countries like India/Pakistan who once had the reputation of blooding in teenagers too early now put the best of the best U-19 batsmen through 3-4 years of first class cricket and A tours before they earn a test cap.

So time's gonna be a real issue with a lot of the upcoming great test batsmen. They would have to ensure they literally have no prolonged bad phases, rather big purple patches to get to Tendulkar's mark and even that will push them well into their late 30s.

With T20s, LOIs all part of the modern day game its gonna take a massive toll on the body.

This is no more a test of quality batsmanship but a sheer test of physical endurance, motivation level.

I honestly think with Cook's retirement, this record has now immortalized. I don't see Kohli goign all the way to break this record even if he can he will probably retire at a mark where Kallis/Sangakkara/Ponting etc left as well.

 

[Bhaijaan]

People used to say Cook benefited immensely from England playing TOO MUCH test cricket but in hindsight its clearly taken its toll on Cook's mind. At merely 33-34 years of age he seems to have totally lost the mental endurance.

 

[InziFans]

The player who has the best shot is the one whose average is far apart from anybody else's and who will consistently maintain that average. One name immediately comes to mind.

 

[kuskash]

Realistically, no one.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Kallis and Sangakkara could both get to 16,000 test runs. But at some point they lost the will to train for international cricket and travel away form the family anymore.

Ironically, Tendulkar came under pressure to retire at 40. He would probably have kept going for another couple of years and maybe even got to 17500-18000 mark. These numbers have no meaning. All it shows is the desire and motivation to compete at the highest level. Tendulkar was among wisden's top batsman when he had only 8000 test runs at 58. Many others like Garry, Richards would still be ranked alongside these guys despite lesser runs. Its about how madly you are in love with the game and remain motivated to train and travel with changing team mates for so many years. The sacrifices to be made. All the days away from family when you could be enjoying retirement. Must admire this dedication and love for the game.

 

[Ab Fan]

Mostly no. Maybe someone from England in future who really would be once in a generation cricketer and if he debut at the age Joe Root did, he can certainly break that record.

 

[Dagestani_Eagle]

Not having meaningless T20s helped Sachin. Kohli and Smith play too much league T20 cricket.

 

[Srtfan]

May be joe root,because England play lot of test

 

[Dead Ball]

I see Kohli getting really damn close. 13-14 k surely. He is mentally strong and fitter than Tendulkar ever was.

Resting out of the Asia Cup is a huge statement by Kohli and soon he will be resting out of meaningless T20s too.

 

[Justcrazy]

No one.

Book Mark this to look back in 2050

 

[Hasan123]

Smith won't. Will be difficult for Kohli to come close as well but it's dependent on how long be will play international cricket for.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Nobody. I don't see Kohli going past Ponting, let alone Tendulkar. Tendulkar never had to worry about IPL which was a huge reduction in workload and stress. We have come to a point where it's impossible to be equally well in T20 leagues and international matches at the same time. Way too much work, one has to pick and choose.

Smith might have done it, but he lost a year which will be a huge blow. Root seems to have lost steam already.

 

[AFM]

I don't think it's possible. Not real life, but in ICC 2016 I had this player in the Pak team who was an ATG batsman. At one point, he had an avg of 70 at 8000 test runs. I was sure he would break the record, and kept playing him. But I had to drop him as he got older. He just couldn't score consistently and I had promising youngsters. Finished with an avg of 58 at 13k runs.

 

[mayankp.sverige]

If Prithvi Shaw plays debuts in next game and plays till the age of 40 . Maybe he can break it since he is only 18 yr old.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Anyone who thinks Kohli can reach 15K test runs is highly delusional. He is already 29 and has more than 9K runs to score. Considering his workload and inevitable downfall in peak years, it is extremely unlikely that he will surpass even Ponting, let alone Tendulkar.

 

[The_Odd_One]

I see Kohli getting really damn close. 13-14 k surely. He is mentally strong and fitter than Tendulkar ever was.

Resting out of the Asia Cup is a huge statement by Kohli and soon he will be resting out of meaningless T20s too.

9K runs in next 6 years at 1500 runs per year until he hits 35 is extremely unlikely.

 

[MP2011]

No way Kohli is going to score 11k test runs let alone 15k test runs.

Considering his workload, he’ll burnout in next 3-4 years. Of course, would love to be proved wrong but I don’t see him lasting long.

 

[Bhaijaan]

If Prithvi Shaw plays debuts in next game and plays till the age of 40 . Maybe he can break it since he is only 18 yr old.

If he gets anywhere near the mark India would have 4 generations of batting supremacy in test cricket. How amazing would that be.

 

[Sam99]

Lol people are like it's not happening and all. There is 100% chance of someone better coming and dominating the world. In India when Gavaskar went Sachin came when Sachin was going down hill Virat was already waiting to replace him. When Virat retires who know we can see better player than Virat as well? or maybe from Australia or England? I am 100% sure there will be way better player than these two in future who will surprise all of us.

 

[Chrish]

Records are more important even if you loose every series..

 

[Dead Ball]

9K runs in next 6 years at 1500 runs per year until he hits 35 is extremely unlikely.

He is a fitness freak, I can see him perform well until 37-38. Another reason I say this is that Kohli is an excellent learner. See the difference between his last England tour and this one. If he has a weakness exposed in one series, it likely that he will rectify it sooner than later.

If the likes on Sangakkara can keep performing strongly till 37-38 I see no reason why Kohli can't, especially considering he is so much fitter in comparison. Barring a freak injury, I really do see a possibility of Kohli getting there.

 

[Dead Ball]

Records are more important even if you loose every series..

India has historically been a country with mediocre test bowlers so winning test series regularly outside Asia against decent/good teams is still a distant dream.

Until then , the least we can do is celebrate cricketers who are clearly giving their 200% despite them being in losing causes. Don't be so negative.

 

[troodon]

No one.

Unless someone like Shaw or Gill debuts in the next few months and bat like champions for the next 20 years.

Kohli at best can get to 12,000 run mark. Smith can also hit the 12,000 run mark.

 

[Chrish]

India has historically been a country with mediocre test bowlers so winning test series regularly outside Asia against decent/good teams is still a distant dream.

Until then , the least we can do is celebrate cricketers who are clearly giving their 200% despite them being in losing causes. Don't be so negative.

Bowling didn't let you down in past two series.

It's a disgusting/ repulsive mentality when you just become content over meaningless individual records. Records only mean something if they contribute toward wins.

 

[Hitman]

Bowling didn't let you down in past two series.

It's a disgusting/ repulsive mentality when you just become content over meaningless individual records. Records only mean something if they contribute toward wins.

Michael Slater vs Brian Lara. What would you assume?

 

[Chrish]

Michael Slater vs Brian Lara. What would you assume?

Lara.

 

[khanz141]

If Babar Azam play till Misbah's age with a Mohammad Yosuf like average, he can break it

 

[Hitman]

Lara.

But Slater's 11 out of 14 Test centuries led to wins. While only 8 out of Lara's 34 Test centuries led to wins.

 

[Chrish]

But Slater's 11 out of 14 Test centuries led to wins. While only 8 out of Lara's 34 Test centuries led to wins.

I don’t see WI fans creating a new thread about Lara every other day 10 years after his retirement. Their cricket doesn’t start or end with Lara.

They have moved on.

 

[Hitman]

I don’t see WI fans creating a new thread about Lara every other day 10 years after his retirement. Their cricket doesn’t start or end with Lara.

They have moved on.

Could it be because there are no West Indian fans in this forum? Or is there any?

 

[Chrish]

Could it be because there are no West Indian fans in this forum? Or is there any?

There are more outside of pp..

 

[Mamoon]

The fact that Cook was mentally done after 160 odd Tests and 12 years of international cricket shows how longevity is not a small deal. His decline actually started around 120 odd Tests, in his early 30s.

It takes a superhuman cricketer to maintain world class performances for over 180 odd Tests and 20 years. The notion that "anyone can break this record if he plays for X years and Y matches" belongs in the garbage - there is a reason why other players cannot play for X years and Y matches.

Mere mortals cannot dream of being able to play top quality cricket for as long as Tendulkar did. The biggest threat to his records, i.e. Cook, did not even get close in the end, much to the disappointment of our fans.

 

[The_Odd_One]

He is a fitness freak, I can see him perform well until 37-38. Another reason I say this is that Kohli is an excellent learner. See the difference between his last England tour and this one. If he has a weakness exposed in one series, it likely that he will rectify it sooner than later.

If the likes on Sangakkara can keep performing strongly till 37-38 I see no reason why Kohli can't, especially considering he is so much fitter in comparison. Barring a freak injury, I really do see a possibility of Kohli getting there.

Kohli plays tremendous amount of cricket, is a captain of his team, and is yet to hit a bad patch. It will be a Herculean effort to get there.

 

[rollingstoned]

The fact that Cook was mentally done after 160 odd Tests and 12 years of international cricket shows how longevity is not a small deal. His decline actually started around 120 odd Tests, in his early 30s.

It takes a superhuman cricketer to maintain world class performances for over 180 odd Tests and 20 years. The notion that "anyone can break this record if he plays for X years and Y matches" belongs in the garbage - there is a reason why other players cannot play for X years and Y matches.

Mere mortals cannot dream of being able to play top quality cricket for as long as Tendulkar did. The biggest threat to his records, i.e. Cook, did not even get close in the end, much to the disappointment of our fans.

Agree which is why even claims of kohli eclipsing tendulkar are premature imo. People use longevity against him but if anything is counts as a big positive. Even if smith hadn't got banned it would have taken a herculean effort and god like batting over a very long Period of time for him to match sachin.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Truth is, there will never be another Sachin.

 

[Kroll]

Truth is, there will never be another Sachin.

Or there might never be another Kohli...

 

[Cric1234]

The fact that Cook was mentally done after 160 odd Tests and 12 years of international cricket shows how longevity is not a small deal. His decline actually started around 120 odd Tests, in his early 30s.

It takes a superhuman cricketer to maintain world class performances for over 180 odd Tests and 20 years. The notion that "anyone can break this record if he plays for X years and Y matches" belongs in the garbage - there is a reason why other players cannot play for X years and Y matches.

Mere mortals cannot dream of being able to play top quality cricket for as long as Tendulkar did. The biggest threat to his records, i.e. Cook, did not even get close in the end, much to the disappointment of our fans.

Had he been an opener in Asia Cook would have done better for sure opening in English conditions and playing a lot of test cricket it's hard to see any batsman being able to maintain it for a long time.

 

[Cric1234]

Cook isn't a great batsman in terms of shot making and dominating the bowling Root has a better chance if he maintains his form.

 

[Stewie]

Not going to happen. I can tell you right now the wild and crazy burnout style they lead they wont last till late 30s. Not kohli. Not root. Not smith

 

[par]

With teams playing less and less test matches every passing year, the players wouldn't have enough matches to score that many runs. The increasing emphasis on T20 leagues also doesn't help.

 

[Bhaijaan]

With teams playing less and less test matches every passing year, the players wouldn't have enough matches to score that many runs. The increasing emphasis on T20 leagues also doesn't help.

I am not sure. A lot of test cricket is being played. England playing nearly 15 tests a year. India , Australia also play 10 +. They are playing more tests now than in Tendhlkars era.

To give you context, Tendulkar only played 38 tests in his first 7 years in cricket. Cook played 87!

38 vs 87

In hindsight maybe that helped teenage sachin not get burnt out and mature nicely into his role.

But thats about young Sachin.

From 97-00 during Sachin's phenomenal peak years he only played 33 tests in 4 years. In today's cricket he would have played 50.

Modern players have benefitted from more tests/burnt out bowling attacks to prolong their peaks.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

There will come a point in Kohli and Smith's career, most likely in their late thirties when they will just lose it. Based on that, they have 6-7 years max. Maybe 8. And I don't see either breaking Tendulkar's record with that amount of time left.
:

 

[par]

I am not sure. A lot of test cricket is being played. England playing nearly 15 tests a year. India , Australia also play 10 +. They are playing more tests now than in Tendhlkars era.

To give you context, Tendulkar only played 38 tests in his first 7 years in cricket. Cook played 87!

38 vs 87

In hindsight maybe that helped teenage sachin not get burnt out and mature nicely into his role.

But thats about young Sachin.

From 97-00 during Sachin's phenomenal peak years he only played 33 tests in 4 years. In today's cricket he would have played 50.

Modern players have benefitted from more tests/burnt out bowling attacks to prolong their peaks.

The first decade of this century was phenomenal for tests regarding number of matches played. 5 teams played more than 100 tests.

In this decade, only 3 teams will play 100 tests. (No prizes for guessing the teams . ) But the future looks bleak. Wait till next round of FTP.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Historically, after 10.000 test runs it becomes really hard to continue. Because as soon as a supposedly 50+ averaging batsman starts to average lower the knives come out. Even an ATG like Dravid was getting criticism

I think SRT's record will remain intact for some decades.

Only way this record can get broken is if a teenager prodigy debuts for a team like England and keeps on scoring 700-1200 runs consistently every year.

In other words, not gonna happen.

Mind you, it's almost 16.000 runs and not 15.000

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Kallis and Sangakkara could both get to 16,000 test runs. But at some point they lost the will to train for international cricket and travel away form the family anymore.

As Imran Khan said in one of his interviews: "there have been very few cricketers/sportsmen who were able to end their careers on a high"; I believe both Sanga and JK wanted to end on a high, instead of averaging in 20s and getting dropped.

Last years must've been hell for SRT as well. I speculate.

 

[Noman]

Kallis and Sangakkara could both get to 16,000 test runs. But at some point they lost the will to train for international cricket and travel away form the family anymore.

Ironically, Tendulkar came under pressure to retire at 40. He would probably have kept going for another couple of years and maybe even got to 17500-18000 mark. These numbers have no meaning. All it shows is the desire and motivation to compete at the highest level. Tendulkar was among wisden's top batsman when he had only 8000 test runs at 58. Many others like Garry, Richards would still be ranked alongside these guys despite lesser runs. Its about how madly you are in love with the game and remain motivated to train and travel with changing team mates for so many years. The sacrifices to be made. All the days away from family when you could be enjoying retirement. Must admire this dedication and love for the game.

Top post

 

[Bhaijaan]

15,921 test runs is indeed the tallest mountain there is to climb for any batsman in international cricket.

With introduction of fast scoring formats batsmen have indeed become more aggressive and every year you see someone becoming fastest to some milestone or the other. That's the nature of cricket changing with runs being scored faster than ever before but how many of these quick run scorers are able to go on and climb the mountain of 15,921 runs or even get near? More and more top cricketers are retiring mid way, literally giving up on the dream and promise of being the one to climb the mountain.

You have Kohli and Smith doing wonderful things. But then you realize 15,921 is still far away.

I salute Sachin for his enormous mental strength and batting genius to be able to play highest quality cricket for 24 years.

Your test record, Sir, is the Mount Everest of cricket.