Virat Kohli is the closest anyone has come to Sachin Tendulkar, and the numbers now split cleanly down the middle. Kohli averages more in international cricket than Tendulkar did — 52.71 against 48.52 — and holds the ODI century record outright. Tendulkar is still well ahead on the totals that made the nickname: 100 international hundreds to Kohli’s 85, and 34,357 runs to 28,359. Figures complete to 15 September 2026; source ESPNcricinfo.
The comparison is easier to make than it used to be, because two thirds of Kohli’s career is now finished. He retired from T20Is after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup final and announced his Test retirement on 12 May 2025. Those two books are closed and will not move again. Only the ODI column is still live, and it is the column where he already leads.
His most recent international innings was 74 against England at Lord’s on 19 July 2026.
Virat Kohli’s international record
| Format | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 2011-2025 | 123 | 210 | 9,230 | 254* | 46.85 | 55.57 | 30 | 31 |
| ODIs | 2008-2026 | 314 | 302 | 14,941 | 183 | 58.59 | 93.95 | 54 | 79 |
| T20Is | 2010-2024 | 125 | 117 | 4,188 | 122* | 48.69 | 137.04 | 1 | 38 |
| All internationals | 2008-2026 | 562 | 629 | 28,359 | 254* | 52.71 | 79.73 | 85 | 148 |
Kohli vs Tendulkar: the head-to-head
Tendulkar played 664 internationals across 24 years; Kohli is on 562 in 18 and counting. Set the two careers side by side and the shape of the argument is obvious straight away.
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
|---|---|---|
| Span | 2008-2026 | 1989-2013 |
| Matches | 562 | 664 |
| Innings | 629 | 782 |
| Runs | 28,359 | 34,357 |
| Average | 52.71 | 48.52 |
| Highest score | 254* | 248* |
| Hundreds | 85 | 100 |
| Fifties | 148 | 164 |
| Test runs (100s) | 9,230 (30) | 15,921 (51) |
| ODI runs (100s) | 14,941 (54) | 18,426 (49) |
| T20I runs (100s) | 4,188 (1) | 10 (0) |
The T20I row is not a fair fight and should not be read as one. Tendulkar played a single T20 international, in 2006, because the format barely existed while he was at his peak. It is a difference in eras, not in ability.
Where Kohli is ahead
Six things in Kohli’s record are either records outright or better than Tendulkar’s equivalent. Each is stated with its scope, because a superlative without one is worth nothing.
- 54 ODI hundreds — the most by any batter. Tendulkar finished on 49. Kohli is the only man to have passed 50, and he is still adding to it.
- An ODI average of 58.59 — the highest of any batter with 5,000 or more ODI runs. Michael Bevan is next on 53.58, then AB de Villiers on 53.50. Tendulkar averaged 44.83.
- A T20I average of 48.69 — the highest of any batter with 1,000 or more T20I runs. Mohammad Rizwan is second on 47.41.
- 765 runs in the 2023 World Cup — the most any batter has made in a single World Cup. He scored them in 11 innings at 95.62 with three hundreds and six fifties. The previous best was Tendulkar’s 673 in 2003, and no other edition since 1975 has produced more than 659.
- Seven Test double-hundreds — more than any other India batter. Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar made six each.
- A far better record in matches India won. In ODIs India went on to win, Kohli made 10,696 runs at 75.32 with 44 hundreds; Tendulkar made 11,157 at 56.63 with 33.
Where Tendulkar is still ahead
The totals, and the format Kohli can no longer add to.
- 100 international hundreds to 85. The gap is 15, and Kohli can only close it in ODIs now.
- 34,357 international runs to 28,359 — a lead of 5,998, built over 153 more innings.
- Tests: 15,921 runs at 53.78 with 51 hundreds, against 9,230 at 46.85 with 30. This is the widest gap between them, and it is the one that is now fixed. Tendulkar played 200 Tests to Kohli’s 123.
- ODI runs: 18,426 to 14,941. Kohli leads on hundreds and on average, but is still 3,485 runs behind on the aggregate.
Virat Kohli as India captain
Kohli took the Test captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2014 and gave up all three jobs in January 2022. Tendulkar captained India too, in the late 1990s, and did not enjoy it.
| Captain | Format | Mat | Won | Lost | Drawn/Tied/NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | Tests | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 drawn | 58.82 |
| Virat Kohli | ODIs | 95 | 65 | 27 | 1 tied, 2 NR | 70.43 |
| Virat Kohli | T20Is | 50 | 30 | 16 | 2 tied, 2 NR | 64.58 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | Tests | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 drawn | 16.00 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | ODIs | 73 | 23 | 43 | 1 tied, 6 NR | 35.07 |
Those 40 Test wins are the most by any India captain. Dhoni is next on 27 from 60 Tests, then Sourav Ganguly on 21 from 49. It is the strongest single line on Kohli’s CV and it has nothing to do with his batting.
The trophies
Kohli has won four global titles as a player: the 2011 ODI World Cup, the 2013 Champions Trophy, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. He won none of them as captain — India lost the World Test Championship finals of 2021 and 2023 under him and did not win a white-ball ICC event during his eight years in charge.
Tendulkar won the 2011 World Cup at the sixth attempt, in his home city, in what everyone knew would be his last. He did not win an ICC trophy as captain either.
Can Kohli reach 100 international hundreds?
He needs 15, and all of them would have to be ODI hundreds. He has 54 from 302 ODI innings, which is one every 5.6 innings; at that rate 15 more takes roughly 84 further innings. He also plays one format now, and has batted only three times since the Indore hundred in January 2026 — 5 and 65 at Birmingham and Cardiff, then 74 at Lord’s. On that volume of cricket the honest answer is that 100 is unlikely rather than impossible.
The ODI record itself is a different matter. He passed Tendulkar’s 49 during the 2023 World Cup and has added five hundreds since, so every innings he plays now extends a mark he already owns.
So is he the new God of cricket?
On the evidence: he is the better one-day batter of the two, by average, by hundreds and by what he did in matches India won. He is not the better Test batter, and he will not now become one. Tendulkar’s 100 hundreds and 34,357 runs are very likely to stand.
The nickname was never really about arithmetic, though. Tendulkar carried Indian cricket through two decades when India lost more than it won, and that is the part of the record no table holds. What the numbers do say is that Kohli has been the most productive Indian batter since, and in one format the most productive batter anyone has produced.
New God of cricket: quick answers
Who is called the God of cricket? Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli is the player most often described as the new God of cricket.
How many international runs does Virat Kohli have? 28,359 from 562 matches at an average of 52.71, complete to 15 September 2026.
How many centuries does Kohli have? 85 — 30 in Tests, 54 in ODIs and one in T20Is. Tendulkar finished on 100.
Does Kohli hold the ODI century record? Yes. His 54 ODI hundreds are the most by any batter, ahead of Tendulkar’s 49.
Is Kohli the leading run-scorer in T20 internationals? No, not any more. He is fourth on 4,188, behind Babar Azam (4,596), Rohit Sharma (4,231) and Jos Buttler (4,212). Kohli has not played a T20 international since the 2024 final.
Which formats does Kohli still play? ODIs only. He retired from T20Is in June 2024 and from Tests in May 2025.
What is Kohli’s record as India captain? 40 wins from 68 Tests, 65 from 95 ODIs and 30 from 50 T20Is. The 40 Test wins are the most by any India captain.
See also our lists of every Virat Kohli century, the most runs in T20 internationals and the highest batting average in T20Is, plus our profile of Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket.
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Photo credit: Alamy