Rohit Sharma breaks Sachin Tendulkar's record for most runs after 200 ODI innings as opener

Record Broken

Indian batter Rohit Sharma has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the player with the most runs in ODI cricket after 200 innings as an opener. Rohit achieved this milestone during the first ODI against the West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, where he scored 32 runs from 35 balls before being caught by Jewel Andrew off Alzarri Joseph in the 12th over. His knock included two fours and three sixes. With this innings, Rohit took his total career runs as an opening batter to 9,897, putting him 680 runs ahead of Tendulkar, who had scored 9,217 runs after his first 200 ODI innings opening the batting. Saurav Ganguly stands third on the list with 7,870 runs, followed by Chris Gayle with 7,669 runs, and Virender Sehwag with 7,051 runs. Four Indians feature inside the top ten list.

Career Timeline

Rohit first opened the batting for India in January 2011 during a tour of South Africa across three matches without making a major impact, leading to a phase where he moved in and out of the team. He was made a permanent opening batter in January 2013, after which his career took off. He has now played 289 total ODIs, scoring 11,927 runs with 34 centuries and 62 half-centuries. Having already retired from Test and T20 international cricket, Rohit now plays only ODIs for India. During the same West Indies match, he shared a 70-run opening partnership with captain Shubman Gill. According to TNP News, Rohit has scored 411 runs across 10 ODI innings in 2026 at an average of 41.1, including a century against England at Lords and a fifty against Afghanistan in Chennai, though questions have arisen regarding team selection ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Context

Opening the batting in limited-overs cricket requires a player to face the brand new ball during the mandatory powerplay overs when fielding restrictions apply. Reaching 200 matches or innings in international cricket represents a high level of long-term fitness and consistent selection at the highest level. Major cricket boards frequently balance backing senior players with grooming younger talents for upcoming global tournaments.