Rohit Sharma opened the innings for India in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series against Afghanistan on Saturday (June 13) and scored 16 runs off 16 balls. During his brief stay at the crease, the right-handed batter from Mumbai struck two fours and a six. He was unfortunately run out in the sixth over of the chase, but before heading back to the pavilion, he surpassed Jacques Kallis’ tally to become the eighth-highest run-scorer in ODI history.
Kallis played 328 ODIs for South Africa, Africa XI, and ICC World XI between 1996 and 2014, scoring 11,579 runs. Rohit, meanwhile, who is featuring in his 283rd ODI on June 13, 2026, now has 11,593 runs to his name.
Rohit needed just three runs in the first ODI against Afghanistan to overtake
Kallis. He achieved the milestone by hitting Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi for a boundary off the first ball of the second over of India’s run chase.
The record for the most runs in ODI cricket is held by Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar played 463 ODIs for India between 1989 and 2012 and amassed 18,426 runs. He is followed on the all-time list by Virat Kohli (14,797), Kumar Sangakkara (14,234), Ricky Ponting (13,704), Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430), Mahela Jayawardene (12,650), Inzamam-ul-Haq (11,739), and Rohit Sharma.
Most runs in ODIs
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 463 | 18,426 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 311 | 14,797 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 404 | 14,234 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 375 | 13,704 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 445 | 13,430 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 448 | 12,650 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 378 | 11,739 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 283* | 11,593 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 328 | 11,579 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | 311 | 11,363 |
After overtaking Kallis, Rohit also completed 16,000 international runs as an opener. He required only six runs in the match to reach the milestone.
He became only the second Indian batter after Virender Sehwag to score more than 16,000 international runs as an opener.
Most runs as opener in international cricket
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 506 | 19,298 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 441 | 18,867 |
| David Warner | Australia | 374 | 18,744 |
| Graeme Smith | South Africa | 342 | 16,950 |
| Desmond Haynes | West Indies | 354 | 16,120 |
| Virender Sehwag | India | 332 | 16,119 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 359 | 16,010 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 346 | 15,335 |
| Tamim Iqbal | Bangladesh | 391 | 15,210 |
| Alastair Cook | England | 250 | 15,110 |
The record for the most runs in international cricket as an opening batter is held by Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored 19,298 runs while opening the innings in 506 matches across formats for Sri Lanka between 1993 and 2011.
He is followed by Chris Gayle (18,867), David Warner (18,744), Graeme Smith (16,950), Desmond Haynes (16,120), Sehwag (16,119), and Rohit (16,110*).
