India has always been known to produce batting superstars generation after generation and is traditionally regarded as one of the best players of spin in the world of cricket. This is because their batters are playing cricket from the elementary level on surfaces that offer slowness, turn, and often keep low.
So batting here is a tough art, especially against the spinners. Though there will be pitches that are highly conducive for batting, numerous Indian batsmen have made their names scoring runs on turning surfaces in First-Class cricket.
There is a rich history associated with domestic cricket in India, which is often viewed as the biggest structure in all of cricket. Ranji Trophy is the premier First-Class tournament in the country, and this is where Indian domestic talents make a name for themselves.
So let us look at the top 10 highest run-getters at the First-Class level among the Indian batters.
Indian Batters with the Most First-Class Runs
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | High Score | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Gavaskar | 563 | 25834 | 51.46 | 340 | 81/105 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 490 | 25396 | 57.84 | 248* | 81/116 |
| Rahul Dravid | 497 | 23794 | 55.33 | 270 | 68/117 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 447 | 20899 | 52.11 | 352 | 65/80 |
| VVS Laxman | 436 | 19730 | 51.64 | 353 | 55/98 |
| Wasim Jaffer | 421 | 19410 | 50.67 | 314* | 57/91 |
| Vijay Hazare | 367 | 18740 | 58.38 | 316* | 60/73 |
| Gundappa Viswanath | 486 | 17970 | 40.93 | 247 | 44/89 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 390 | 17868 | 52.86 | 284 | 55/87 |
| Polly Umrigar | 350 | 16155 | 52.28 | 252* | 49/80 |
Key Stats
25834: This is the highest aggregate of career runs scored by an Indian cricketer, and the record belongs to former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar. The champion batter is also the first-ever cricketer to breach the 10000-run milestone in Test cricket, scoring 10122 runs in the international red-ball format.
81: The number of centuries scored by 2 Indian legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, in First-Class cricket. This is the most by any batter from India in the longest format of the game. While Sachin scored 51 of them in Test cricket, Gavaskar hammered 34 Test tons during his playing days.
443: The highest First-Class score by an Indian cricketer in an innings and it was achieved by BB Nimbalkar in the 1948/49 Ranji season when he represented Maharashtra against Kathiawar. This is also the 4th highest individual score in the history of First-Class cricket, with Brian Lara’s 501 holding the top position.
But among the top 10 here, VVS Laxman with 353 sits pretty at the top when it comes to the highest individual scores in FC cricket.
4: Number of Indian cricketers with over 20,000 career runs in First-Class cricket. Current India stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara became the latest entrant in this elite list as he joined Sachin, Gavaskar, and Rahul Dravid.
16: Apart from the legends mentioned above, 6 other Indian cricketers have scored 15,000 or more runs in First-Class cricket. And the batters are Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, MAK Pataudi, Ajit Wadekar, and Gautam Gambhir.
71.64: This is the First-Class average of Vijay Merchant (13470 runs). Though he is not on the list, this is the best average for an Indian batter in the format with more than 10,000 First-Class runs.
