Virat Kohli became the 1st player in cricket history to score more than 2500 runs in a single calendar year across all formats for 3 years, and that too, in a row – 2016, 2017 & 2018.
To be noted: Virat Kohli’s batting average across formats has never gone down 60s in those 3 years. (You can read here on Virat Kohli’s ODI & Test Stats – Year by Year to understand how he has grown invincible over the years.)
Now, let’s look into the list of batters who have scored more than 2500+ scores in a calendar year.
Most 2500 Runs in a Calendar Year (All Formats)
| Player | 2500+ Runs | Year | Runs | Matches | Inns | Avg | 100/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 3 | 2016 | 2595 | 37 | 41 | 86.50 | 7/13 |
| 2017 | 2818 | 46 | 52 | 68.73 | 11/10 | ||
| 2018 | 2735 | 37 | 47 | 68.37 | 11/9 | ||
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2 | 2003 | 2657 | 45 | 49 | 66.42 | 11/8 |
| 2005 | 2833 | 46 | 58 | 56.66 | 9/15 | ||
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 2 | 2006 | 2609 | 50 | 55 | 52.18 | 5/16 |
| 2014 | 2813 | 47 | 56 | 53.07 | 8/17 | ||
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 1 | 1998 | 2541 | 39 | 42 | 68.67 | 12/8 |
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | 1 | 1999 | 2626 | 53 | 62 | 46.89 | 10/9 |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 1 | 1999 | 2580 | 51 | 60 | 47.77 | 6/17 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 1 | 2009 | 2568 | 42 | 49 | 55.82 | 10/8 |
| Angelo Mathews (SL) | 1 | 2014 | 2530 | 52 | 58 | 61.70 | 3/17 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 1 | 2015 | 2692 | 39 | 46 | 65.65 | 8/14 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 1 | 2016 | 2570 | 41 | 55 | 50.39 | 5/18 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 1 | 2022 | 2598 | 44 | 52 | 54.12 | 8/17 |
There are only 15 instances of a player scoring more than 2500 runs in a calendar year across the formats, and Virat adds three counts to that!
11 players have scored 2500 runs in a calendar year once in their career, with Virat Kohli (3), Kumar Sangakkara (2), and Ricky Ponting (2) doing it more than once. The latest being Babar Azam in 2022.
The former Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid & Tillakaratne Dilshan, and the current players – Joe Root, Angelo Mathews, and Kane Williamson are the other names in the club.
Overall, the 2010s was a fantastic decade for Virat Kohli. He topped the chart for the current decade, too.
Here’s the list of players who have scored more than 2000 International Runs in a calendar year more than 4 times in their career:
- Virat Kohli – 7
- Kumar Sangakkara – 6
- Mahela Jayawardene – 5
- Sachin Tendulkar – 5
Find the full top-10 list here: Most “2000+ Scores in a Calendar Year” by Cricketers
Wrapping it up!
Virat Kohli made another record of scoring 1000+ Test Runs in three consecutive years, ing Matthew Hayden (5 consecutive Years), Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen and Steve Smith.
And Virat also has ed Sachin in his record of Most 1000+ ODI Runs in a Year – 7.
