In Pics: On Virat Kohli’s special day, list of cricketers to play more than 500 international matches
1: Sachin Tendulkar – 664 games
Sachin Tendulkar played 664 international games, which included 464 ODIs, 200 Tests and a solitary T20I for India. The Master Blaster charted an epic and unparalleled career with notable contributions with the bat that earned him the highest civilian award in the country, i.e. The Bharat Ratna.
2: Mahela Jayawardene – 652 games
Mahela Jayawardene follows Tendulkar closely with 652 international games. The ex-Sri Lankan skipper was a stalwart in all three formats for the island nation and scored over 26,000 runs combined in Tests, ODIs and T20Is across his 17-year-long career for the national team.
3: Kumar Sangakkara – 594 games
At No. 3 is another Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who played 594 matches across three formats and notched 28,016 runs in total. His international career lasted for 15 years and led the team in their runners-up finish in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in 2011.
4: Sanath Jayasuriya – 586 games
Sri Lankans seem to be dominating this list and at the fourth spot in former swashbuckling opener Sanath Jayasuriya. The all-rounder played 586 games for the team and aggregated nearly 21,000 runs that included 42 centuries. He backed it up with 440 wickets across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
5: Ricky Ponting – 560 games
The former Australian skipper led a spectacular career in which he held the Baggy Greens at the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings along with having won two ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2006. He is ranked third in the number of centuries scored (71) in all formats combined, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Virat Kohli (75).
6: MS Dhoni – 538 games
MS Dhoni led the team impressively in all three formats in a very illustrious period in the history of Indian cricket. In addition to taking India to the top spot in the Test rankings, he won two World Cups and a Champions Trophy. Moreover, Dhoni’s performances with the bat were both revolutionary and ground-breaking, setting about a new era of dominant and attacking approach with the willow.
7: Shahid Afridi – 524 games
Shahid Afridi played 524 games for Pakistan in his 22-year-long international career. He debuted in ODIs in 1996 and played his last T20I in 2018. Afridi was renowned for retiring and making a U-turn several times and he even led the team for a brief period in the meantime.
8: Jacques Kallis – 519 games
Jacques Kallis played 166 Tests and 519 matches for South Africa. It is an even more impeccable feat considering that that he was a specialist batsman but also bowled pace at full throttle throughout the course of his career for South Africa. Kallis scored 62 centuries combined in all three formats and also took 577 international wickets.
9: Rahul Dravid – 509 games
Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is the third Indian player to play over 500 international matches. Dravid featured in 509 games and has returned to the national team setup in a coaching responsibility to add more feathers to his already distinguished feather.
