Top 10 Best Batsmen in the World 2025-26 - Ranked

Cricket is one of the most loved sports across the world, which brings the fans together to enjoy the thrill of the game of cricket. The game of cricket has evolved a lot since the beginning of the sport, where new formats have been introduced and even rules have evolved over time. In the past, cricket was seen more as a balanced game for both batsmen and bowlers, but in recent years, batsmen have dominated the game with their explosive batting skills and scoring big runs. Pitches are also now becoming more batting-friendly than bowling. Batters are now seen as superheroes. In this article, we will cover the all-time best batsman in the world.

How we analyze the best batsman in the world - Major Facts

As cricket has not been the same with respect to the rules, the game of cricket has become much favorable to the batsmen. There should be a fair ranking of the best batsman in the world according to some ranking factors. Here are some of the ranking factors:

• Overall Batting Average: The Overall batting average of the players shows the consistency of the player to score runs across the formats like Test, ODI, and even T20Is. This indicates the long-term reliability of the players in scoring runs and performing well for the team.
• Strike Rate / Scoring Efficiency: Strike Rate or scoring efficiency shows the capabilities of the player in scoring runs at speed, which is important to adjust in limited over formats, where runs have to be scored in the given overs. This shows the balance of aggression and control of the player in limited-over games, where the player has to score the runs quickly while holding wickets.
• Performance in All Formats (Test, ODI, T20): The performance in All Formats shows the adaptability and consistency of the player in scoring well in all formats, which include Test, ODI, and T20I. This helps in understanding the adaptability of the player in adjusting his game according to the format and the number of runs in each of them. The high scores in each format rank the player higher as the best batsman in the world.
• Big Match Performance: This shows how well the player can play the big innings at the big tournaments like ICC tournaments, World Cups, and even finals. This involves big match performances and shows how well the player can handle the pressure on a big stage, and showcases his skills in a match-winning cause through clutch performances.
• Career Centuries & Fifties: The career centuries and fifties scored by the player show the ability of player to score big runs and convert a good start into a high score. This involves the number of centuries and half-centuries scored by the player in his career, which indicates sustained excellence and temperament.
• Recent Form & ICC Rankings: The recent form and the ICC rankings of the player show how well the player has been playing in recent years and how he has performed in his last years of career, which also tells about the player's ICC rankings.
• Versatility Across Conditions: The best batsman in the world should be versatile in his game, which shows the performance of the player in different countries and continents where the playing conditions vary and have different kinds of pitches, like where SENA countries have pitches suited for pace and swing where on the other hand Asian pitches are best suited for spinners. The versatility of the player indicated the ability of the player to play spin, pace, and in tough environments.
• Impact on Team Wins: The player's impact on team wins shows the runs scored, and the performance of player has contributed to the team's win. The player's overall performance in the match should result in a winning cause for the team, and scoring runs should lead to a win, not just improving their stats.

Top 10 Best Batsman of All Time: Updated List

In the current scenario of cricket, there are many batsmen who have shown their worth on the field by scoring a lot of runs and contributing to the win of their respective teams. Here is the list of the top 10 best batsman in the world all time.

Who is the best batsmen in the world 2025?

Cricket is a sport that is currently dominated by batters, but it wasn’t always this way. In the past, world-class bowlers often ruled the game and were like nightmares for batsmen. Despite the tough conditions, some batters stood out and consistently showed their class against even the most dangerous bowlers. We have ranked the greatest batters in cricket history and created a list of the top 10 best batsman in the world all time.

10. Sir Jack Hobbs | England

Sir Jack Hobbs, who is widely known as “The Master,” comes in the 10th position on the list of the best batsman in the world. He is considered to be one of the best batsmen in England who has played cricket for a very long time and even scored most of his runs after the age of 40, and that too consistently. He has played a lot of first-clas cricket where he has scored more than 60,000 runs in the first-class cricket in his career. He has played 61 test matches, where he has scored 5,410 runs with an average of 56.94 and scored 15 centuries and 28 half-centuries. His cricketing career shows his resilience and temperament towards the game of cricket.

9. Sir Wally Hammond | England

Sir Wally Hammond, another English cricketer who has earned a name as one of the greatest batsman in the world. He is considered to be one of the greatest cricketers in the world with vast experience of playing the game. He has plenty of experience in first-class cricket with scoring more than 50,000 runs and taking a good number of wickets too. In his international career, he has played 85 test matches, where he has scored 7,249 runs with an average of 58.45 and scored 22 centuries and 24 half-centuries. His career stats clearly justify him being on the list of the best batsman in the world.

8. Ricky Ponting | Australia

One of the best Australian captains ever, Ricky Ponting, finds himself in the list of greatest batsman of all time in the 8th position with more than 500+ international matches for the Australian Team. He has scored more than 27000+ runs for his team. Ponting’s Test average is more than 50. He has scored a total of 71 centuries in his career. He has played all three formats of the game and shown his worth and skillset in the game of cricket. He is known for his pull shot and which is considered to be the perfect pull shot ever played by any batsman.

7. Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka

One of the most elegant Left-handed batsmen in the world, Kumar Sangakkara, comes in the 7th position in this list of the best batsman of all time. He was an excellent stroke player, and the way he played the cover drives during his prime time was one of the most beautiful sights on the cricket ground ever witnessed by the fans and the players as well. He had a terrific international career where he played 594 international matches across three formats of the game and has scored 28,016 runs with an average of 46.77 and scored 63 centuries and 153 half-centuries in his long career. He is considered to be one of the best batsman in the world.

6. Sunil Gavaskar | India

Sunil Gavaskar was statistically the most successful opening batsman and is perhaps one of the best openers of all time. His batting was distinguished by excellent technique, unwavering focus, and, most significantly, audacious nerve. In an age of the fearsome West Indies pacers, he used to play without a helmet. He has played his best for the Indian cricket team for 16 years and was also a part of the winning team of the ICC World Cup 1983. In his international career, he has played 233 matches and scored 13,214 runs with an average of 46.20, and scored 35 centuries and 72 half-centuries. He is one of the best batsman in the world, which can be seen through his batting skills.

5. Virat Kohli | India

Indian former captain Virat Kohli is the current world number one batsman, and in the list of the greatest batsman in the world, he is in the 5th position. He is called the King of Cricket by the fans. He has been the world no 1 batsman in all formats for a very long period of time. He was the only batter to have a 50+ average in all formats of cricket. He has several records to his name and has taken the world of cricket, especially in Indian, to the next level. In his international career, he has played 550 matches where he has scored 27,599 runs with an average of 51.14 and has scored 82 centuries, just before Sachin's record of 100 centuries. Virat Kohli has scored the most number of centuries in ODIs with 51 centuries to his name. He is one of the best batsman of all time in the world of cricket.

4. Sir Vivian Richards | West Indies

Sir Vivian Richards, who is also known as the Boss of the Cricket Field, comes in the 4th position in the list of the best batsman in the world. His batting style was so destructive that bowlers feared to bowl to him. He had that kind of aura at that time. He introduced a new way of batting in the cricketing world (fearless batting approach). He was so confident about his batting abilities that he never wore a helmet throughout his career. In his international career, he has played 308 matches where he scored 15,261 runs with an average of 47 and has scored 35 centuries and 90 half-centuries. He used to rule the world of cricket in his era and is the greatest batsman of all time.

3. Brian Lara | West Indies

Brian Lara comes in 3th position in the list of the best batsman in the world. He is a legendary player from the West Indies, also considered the greatest left-hander to have ever played cricket. He is known for his classic batting with his temperament in the game. He became the first cricketer to score 400 runs in an innings in a test match. In his international career, he has played 430 matches where he scored 22,358 runs with an average of 46.28 and has scored 53 centuries and 111 half-centuries. He has been one of the best in the business when it comes to scoring runs and is one of the best batsman of all time.

2. Sachin Tendulkar | India

Sachin Tendulkar comes in the 2nd position in the list of the best batsman in the world, and he is also known as the “God of Cricket“. There was a time when every record related to batting was held by Sachin Tendulkar. He has played 200 test matches and scored 15,921 runs with an average of 53.78. He has a total of 51 test centuries to his name, which is the most by any cricketer. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was the first player to score a double century in ODIs against South Africa. Many records seem impossible to break by any other batsman ever. He has a total of 100 centuries to his name, including all the formats.

1. Sir Donald Bradman | Australia

The greatest Batsman of all time is none other than Sir Donald Bradman from Australia, who tops the list of the top 10 batsman in the world all time. He has a 20-year-long career. He has been an inspiration to many future stars like Sachin Tendulkar. He played in 52 test matches in his career and scored 6996 runs for his team. His career average is best among all the cricketers with 99.94, which could have been 100 if he hadn’t got out for a golden duck in his last match of his career. He scored a total of 29 centuries for his team. He has shown his dominance in test cricket and is considered to be the best batsman in the world.

Who is the greatest batsman in the world of all time?

Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman in the world of all time who has an impressive record in international cricket. He has earned this title as he has played all three formats of the game, which shows his versatility across different formats, and has been performing well in those formats as well. He became the second player in the history of cricket to play 100+ games across the three formats. He has shown his skillset to the fullest in all formats of the game and has broken and created several records to his name. He is currently behind only Sachin in scoring the most centuries in international cricket. He is known to be a chase master and run machine with the benchmark he has set with his game. He is the most followed cricketer in the world and indeed the best batsman in the world.