Sachin Tendulkar (L) and Rahul Dravid (R) (Source: AFP)
Representing India in the Test cricket, the longest and traditional format of the game, has always been the most significant measure to assess a batter’s skill, temperament, and longevity. The notion of survival in Test cricket revolves around acclimatising to the different conditions and dominating the relentless bowling attacks.
In the 94-year-long history of India’s Test cricket, there have been very few cricketers who represented the national side in the red-ball cricket at the highest level of the game. Among these, the numbers become a bit less when it's about the players who established a reputation of India’s ‘all time great’ in Tests.
That said, here’s a look at the five Indian batters who featured in the most Test matches for India.
Five batters with the most Tests for India
Sachin Tendulkar - 200 Tests (1989-2013)
The former legendary India batter, Sachin Tendulkar, who also earned the title of the ‘God of Cricket’ for his unmatched batting legacy in international cricket, especially in the Tests. After making his debut in 1989 at the age of just 16, Sachin went on to become one of the very few players in the history of Test cricket who played for more than two decades.
In his 24-year Test career, Sachin played 200 matches, scoring 15,921 runs in 329 innings at an average of 53.78, hitting 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries. He also holds the record of the most runs by a batter in Tests, alongside being the only batter in the history to feature in 200 Tests. The Master Blaster leads the list of the batters who have played the most Tests for India.
Rahul Dravid - 163 Tests (1996-2013)
The former batting great, Rahul Dravid, was also known as the ‘Wall of India’, who always stood strong whenever the Indian batting faced collapses against the lethal bowling attacks in Test cricket. Dravid made his debut for India in the Lord’s Test against England in 1996, scoring a brilliant 95 off 267 balls, showcasing his longevity in the middle.
Furthermore, the Wall protected India’s top order for 16 years till 2012. In this period, Dravid played a total of 164 Tests, including 163 for India and one for the ICC World XI against Australia in 2005. In his 163 Tests for India, the batting maestro scored 13,265 runs in 284 innings, with an average of 52.63, hitting 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries.
Even after 14 years of his retirement, Dravid is still the second leading run-scorer for India in the Tests, alongside being the second batter to play the most number of Test matches for India.
VVS Laxman - 134 Tests (1996-2012)
VVS Laxman emerged as one of the most stylish and impactful batters ever played for India in Tests despite playing in the shadows of the giants like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. The Ahmedabad Test against South Africa in 1996 was the first Test appearance for VVS Laxman.
Later, when Laxman cemented his place in the middle order, he became a crucial and unignorable part of India’s middle overs in Tests during his 16-year-long career. He went on to play 134 Tests for India, scoring 8,781 runs with a decent average of 45.97, hitting 17 centuries and 56 half-centuries. Meanwhile, Laxman is the third batter with the most Tests for India.
Kapil Dev - 131 Tests (1978-1994)
Former World Cup champion skipper and one of the all-time great all-rounders, Kapil Dev, also served India in the Tests for more than one and a half decades. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in the Faisalabad Test in 1978 and played his last Test in 1994 against New Zealand in 1994.
He played 131 Tests for India, scoring 5,248 runs with the bat in 184 innings, with an average of 31.05, hitting eight centuries and 27 half-centuries. Out of these 131 Tests, Kapil Dev also led the Indian side in 34 Tests, from 1983 to 1987.
Sunil Gavaskar - 125 Tests (1971-1987)
Sunil Gavaskar’s dominance in 70s and 80s was precisely the first batting superstardom in the long history of Indian batsmanship. The Little Master left the entire cricketing world awestruck while scoring his 58th run in the first innings of the Ahmedabad Test against Pakistan on March 3, 1987.
It was the run that made Sunil Gavaskar immortal in the entire history of cricket, as it made him the first-ever batter to score 10,000 Test runs. Interestingly, he achieved this milestone in the penultimate Test of his career before hanging up his boots after one last appearance in the Bengaluru Test against Pakistan.
Gavaskar scored 10,122 runs in 214 innings with an average of 51.12, hitting 34 centuries and 45 Test centuries. Even after almost four decades of his retirement, Gavaskar is still at the fifth spot in the list of the batter with the most Tests for India.
