Most runs in WTC history: Joe Root’s 6,753 and a 2,000-run lead

Joe Root has the most runs in World Test Championship history, 6,753 at 50.39 with 23 hundreds – more than 2,000 clear of Steve Smith. Rishabh Pant is the leading Indian on 2,948.

Joe Root has scored more runs in the World Test Championship than anyone: 6,753 in 80 matches at 50.39, with 23 hundreds. That is 2,032 runs clear of Steve Smith, who is second on 4,721.

Three cycles are complete and a fourth is under way. Rishabh Pant is the leading Indian on 2,948, a little ahead of Shubman Gill.

Most runs in WTC history

The ten leading run-scorers across all World Test Championship cycles, from 2019 to date. Complete to 10 September 2026, with the third England v Pakistan Test at Birmingham in progress. Source: ESPNcricinfo.

Rank	Player	Team	Span	Matches	Runs	Average	100s
1	Joe Root	England	2019-2026	80	6753	50.39	23
2	Steve Smith	Australia	2019-2026	61	4721	50.22	14
3	Marnus Labuschagne	Australia	2019-2026	60	4520	45.20	11
4	Travis Head	Australia	2019-2026	59	3990	42.00	11
5	Ben Stokes	England	2019-2026	64	3857	35.06	8
6	Usman Khawaja	Australia	2019-2026	47	3464	43.30	8
7	Babar Azam	Pakistan	2019-2026	43	3458	47.36	8
8	Zak Crawley	England	2020-2026	57	3314	31.86	4
9	Harry Brook	England	2022-2026	37	3191	51.46	9
10	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	2019-2026	32	3025	58.17	11

Joe Root’s lead is the largest in any of the WTC lists

Root has played 80 WTC matches, more than anyone else in the top ten, and volume is part of it — only Kane Williamson (58.17) and Harry Brook (51.46) average more among the ten. But the hundreds are not a volume story: Root has 23, nine more than anyone else has managed, and Smith is next on 14.

He is still adding to it. In the 2025-27 cycle he has 1,210 runs from 16 matches, second on that cycle’s list behind his England team-mate Harry Brook on 1,248.

Three finals, and what happened in them

The WTC runs in two-year cycles ending in a one-off final:

2021, Southampton — New Zealand beat India by eight wickets. India made 217 and 170; New Zealand replied with 249 and knocked off the target for the loss of two.

2023, The Oval — Australia beat India by 209 runs. Australia’s 469 and 270 for 8 declared were too much for India’s 296 and 234.

2025, Lord’s — South Africa beat Australia by five wickets, chasing 282 after bowling Australia out for 212 and 207. It was South Africa’s first WTC final.

India remain the only side to have reached two finals, and they lost both. They did not qualify in 2025.

The biggest innings

The highest score in the World Test Championship belongs to a batter who is no longer in the top ten. David Warner’s 335 not out against Pakistan at Adelaide in 2019 is still the WTC record, and Harry Brook’s 317 against Pakistan at Multan in 2024 is the only other triple hundred on the list.

Behind them, Shubman Gill made 269 against England at Birmingham in 2025 and Zak Crawley 267 against Pakistan at Southampton in 2020. Root’s own best, 262, came in the same Multan innings as Brook’s 317 — the two of them put on 454 for England in October 2024.

Indians with the most WTC runs

Rishabh Pant leads India’s WTC run-scorers with 2,948 from 42 matches, with Shubman Gill 31 behind on 2,917 from the same number of matches. Both are still playing, so that order can change in a session.

Then come Rohit Sharma on 2,716, Ravindra Jadeja on 2,675, Virat Kohli on 2,617 and Yashasvi Jaiswal on 2,588 — and Jaiswal has needed only 30 matches, the fewest of the six.

Gill has been the form batter of the current cycle: 1,024 runs in ten matches at 68.26, including a highest score of 269.

Most runs in WTC history: quick answers

Who has the most runs in WTC history? Joe Root, with 6,753.

Who is second? Steve Smith, on 4,721 — more than 2,000 behind.

Which Indian has the most? Rishabh Pant, with 2,948.

Who has the most WTC hundreds? Joe Root, with 23.

What is the highest score in the WTC? David Warner’s 335 not out.

See also our lists of the most wickets in WTC history and the most hundreds in WTC history.

Interested in cricket betting? Click here to check out the list of top sites.

Photo credit: Imago