Joe Root became the first England batter to reach 23,000 international runs on September 22, 2026, during the first ODI against Sri Lanka, reaching the milestone in fewer innings than Sachin Tendulkar and extending a remarkable run of record-breaking performances in recent weeks.

Root Reaches 23,000 International Runs

Joe Root has scripted another chapter in his extraordinary career, becoming the first England batter to score 23,000 international runs during the opening one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Riverside Ground in Durham. Root walked to the crease needing only three runs and completed the feat with a boundary, reaching the landmark in his 521st innings.

The milestone carries particular significance because of how it compares to Sachin Tendulkar's own path to the same number. Root reached 23,000 international runs in 521 innings, one fewer than the 522 innings Tendulkar needed to get there — meaning Root has now officially moved past the Indian legend in the list of fastest batsmen to the landmark. Root sits second on that list behind Virat Kohli, who remains the fastest to 23,000 international runs, having reached the mark in just 490 innings.

With the milestone, Root has now scored 23,003 international runs across 394 matches, at a career average of 49.88, with 61 centuries to his name. That places him eighth on the all-time list of leading run-scorers across all international formats — still a considerable distance behind Tendulkar's career tally of 34,357, but firmly established among the most productive batters the game has produced. The list ahead of him reads like a roll call of modern greats: Virat Kohli with 28,359 runs, Kumar Sangakkara with 28,016, Ricky Ponting with 27,483, Mahela Jayawardene with 25,957, Jacques Kallis with 25,534 and Rahul Dravid with 24,208.

A Season of Milestones

What makes this latest achievement especially striking is that it arrives just days after Root set another significant record against Tendulkar's name in the Test format. During England's third and final Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston earlier this month, Root moved past Tendulkar for the most half-centuries in Test cricket history.

Batting on Day 4 as England chased a target of 130 to complete a 3-0 series whitewash, Root remained unbeaten on 62 off 69 balls, striking nine fours as England eased to an eight-wicket win. That innings took Root's tally of Test half-centuries to 69, one more than Tendulkar's long-standing mark of 68. The achievement was also notable for its efficiency — Root reached his 69th fifty in 309 innings, while Tendulkar needed 329 innings to compile his 68.

The list of players with the most Test half-centuries now reads: Root on 69, Tendulkar on 68, West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 66, and Allan Border and Rahul Dravid tied on 63, with Ricky Ponting on 62.

Root's Edgbaston innings brought other landmarks too. He became the first batter in Test history to score more than 1,000 runs at Edgbaston, making it the fourth venue where he has crossed that threshold, following Lord's, Manchester and The Oval. In doing so, he joined an elite group of only three players — alongside former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis and Australian great Ricky Ponting — to have scored more than 1,000 Test runs at four different venues. His run tallies at those grounds are considerable: 2,203 at Lord's, 1,128 at Manchester and 1,050 at The Oval.

Root's record-breaking form has continued into the one-day format as well. He recently became the first player in ODI history to score more than 2,000 runs in the fourth innings of matches, with his tally reaching 2,059 — well clear of Tendulkar's 1,625 in the same category. That achievement places him alongside an exclusive group of run-accumulators that includes Tendulkar, Kohli, Dravid, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ponting and Kallis.

What This Means for Root's Legacy

At 35 years old, Root continues to add to a Test career that already ranks among the finest in the sport's history. He has scored 14,278 Test runs from 169 matches and 309 innings, at an average of 50.45, with 41 centuries and 69 fifties to his name. That places him second on the all-time list of Test run-scorers, behind only Tendulkar's career tally of 15,921 — meaning Root now needs roughly 1,643 more runs to overtake the Indian batting icon's all-time Test record.

Root's path up the all-time list has been steady and relentless. Earlier this year, he passed both Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis before overtaking Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history — all within the same match, against India at Old Trafford. That left only one name above him on the list: Tendulkar.

It's worth noting that while Root has now surpassed Tendulkar in the fifties column and in innings-efficiency to 23,000 international runs, the Indian legend remains comfortably ahead in Test centuries. Tendulkar finished his career with 51 Test hundreds, well clear of South Africa's Jacques Kallis in second place with 45, and further still ahead of Root's 41. Tendulkar also retains the outright record for most Test runs and most international runs overall by a considerable margin, underlining that while Root is closing the gap in several specific categories, Tendulkar's broader legacy as the leading run-scorer in the sport's history remains intact — for now.

A Career Still Writing New Chapters

What stands out most about Root's recent run of milestones is the timing. Most batters see their output decline in their mid-thirties, yet Root's numbers over the past year suggest the opposite. His sustained productivity across formats — Test, ODI, and beyond — has kept him firmly in the conversation not just as England's greatest modern batter, but as a genuine rival to the game's all-time greats.

Former England captain Alastair Cook, who has watched Root's career unfold at close range, has previously noted that while Tendulkar remains the favourite to hold onto his most significant records given the sheer volume of runs already on the board, Root's longevity and consistency mean he has a genuine chance of closing the gap further before his career ends. Cook has been unequivocal in his assessment of Root's stature in the English game, describing him as the greatest English batter across all three formats regardless of where his final tally lands.

With England's home summer now shifting into the white-ball season against Sri Lanka, Root shows no signs of slowing his pursuit of cricketing history. Each innings brings him closer to Tendulkar's remaining records, and given his current form, few would bet against further milestones falling before the year is out.