Most Centuries In International Cricket History: Complete All-Time List

A century is a score of 100 or more in one international innings. Sachin Tendulkar has the most centuries in international cricket among men, with 100 hundreds: 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs. This guide combines official men’s Test, ODI and T20I centuries, excludes IPL and other domestic or franchise matches, and uses a records snapshot cut off on 16 October 2026. Active-player totals can change after each international match.

Table Numbering: The No. column shows row order. Players with equal totals still share the same record; the row numbers do not break those ties.

Records At A Glance

Verified men’s international records, with format totals kept separate.

All-Time Leader

Sachin Tendulkar

100

51 Test · 49 ODI

ODI Century Leader

Virat Kohli

86

30 Test · 55 ODI · 1 T20I

Third Overall

Ricky Ponting

71

41 Test · 30 ODI

Records Checked 16 October 2026 · Official Internationals Only

Archive Portraits: Cricbuzz (Tendulkar), Anand Anil / Wikimedia Commons (Kohli, CC BY-SA 4.0), Getty Images via ESPNcricinfo (Ponting).

Who Has Scored The Most Centuries In International Cricket?

Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most centuries in men’s international cricket: 100. He made 51 Test hundreds and 49 ODI hundreds. He did not score a T20I century. No other men’s player has reached three figures, which is why the “100 international centuries” milestone remains associated with Tendulkar.

The total here means hundreds in official internationals for a national side. It does not include the IPL, county cricket, first-class matches, List A games or other franchise competitions. This matters most when comparing modern batters, who may have large domestic records alongside their international numbers.

The main ranking below follows the combined Test+ODI+T20I career table used for this update. The format columns are reconciled to the latest available format tables so that each row adds to the combined total. Country labels identify the player’s international side; historical records pages may also show Asia XI, ICC or World selections in their team codes.

Most Centuries In International Cricket: Top 20 Players

Equal century totals remain equal. The No. column is a clean row order, not a separate statistical rank. This is a career-hundreds table, not a measure of batting quality. Matches, innings, opposition strength, batting position and format opportunities differ across eras.

How The Combined Record Should Be Read

A combined list rewards long careers across more than one format. Tendulkar’s 100 came from Tests and ODIs, while Rohit Sharma’s total includes five T20I hundreds. Chris Gayle is the only player in this top 20 with two T20I hundreds, alongside 15 Test and 25 ODI hundreds.

The list also shows why a single total needs context. Root’s 61 hundreds include 41 in Tests, the same Test total as Ponting, while his ODI contribution is 20. Amla is unusually balanced between the two longer formats with 28 Test and 27 ODI hundreds. De Villiers reached 47 despite fewer Test centuries than most of the players above him because he made 25 ODI hundreds and scored quickly across a shorter career.

Records databases can be revised when scorecards are corrected, player classifications are updated or new matches are loaded. This article uses the October 2026 combined table as the controlling total and records the format split used to explain it. Older graphics should not be treated as current evidence.

Most Centuries In Test Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar holds the Test record with 51 centuries in 200 matches. Jacques Kallis is second with 45, while Ricky Ponting and Joe Root are level on 41. Sangakkara has 38, Steve Smith 37 and Rahul Dravid 36. The Test list favours sustained performance over a long innings career, but it also reflects how many Tests each generation played.

The Test table is separate because a Test hundred is not directly equivalent to a T20I hundred. Tests allow two innings and much longer spells at the crease, while T20Is place a strict limit on balls and overs.

Most Centuries In ODI Cricket

Virat Kohli leads the men’s ODI century table with 55 hundreds in the October 2026 current table used for this article. Tendulkar is next with 49, followed by Rohit Sharma on 35 and Ponting on 30. Kohli’s ODI record is the largest part of his combined total and is the clearest reason he is the closest active challenger to Tendulkar’s overall mark.

Kohli’s active status is the reason this section needs a date. His career line is shown through 2026 in the primary record data, but any later ODI can change both his total and his position. Rohit Sharma is also retained as an active 2026-era record-holder in the source profile, although his format participation has changed over time.

Most Centuries In T20I Cricket

Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma share the men’s T20I record with five centuries each in the current format table. Phil Salt and Suryakumar Yadav follow with four. T20I hundreds are less common because an innings normally lasts only 20 overs, so a small number of hundreds can move a player quickly up the format list.

Among the combined top 20, Rohit has five T20I hundreds, Gayle has two, and Warner has one. Tendulkar, Ponting, Sangakkara, Kallis, Root and most of the older Test-era leaders did not make a T20I century. IPL hundreds are not part of this table, even when the same players scored heavily in that competition.

All players on three or more hundreds are shown, including associate nations. Equal century totals remain tied even though each listed row has its own number.

Sachin Tendulkar Vs Virat Kohli: International Centuries Compared

Tendulkar has the larger total and the stronger Test volume. Kohli has more ODI hundreds in the current 2026 table and has also added a T20I century. That makes the comparison more useful when treated as two different career shapes rather than a simple winner-versus-loser debate.

Tendulkar played 200 Tests and finished with 51 hundreds in that format. Kohli’s 30 Test hundreds are an outstanding record, but his international identity is more heavily tied to ODI batting. Kohli’s 55 ODI hundreds give him the highest ODI total in this snapshot, while Tendulkar’s 49 remain second. The opportunity to play T20Is also differs: Tendulkar appeared in one T20I, whereas Kohli played in the modern T20I era and scored one hundred.

Kohli’s 86 hundreds are made up of 30 in Tests, 55 in ODIs and one in T20Is. The gap to Tendulkar is 14 centuries at this cutoff. A later ODI hundred would change both his ODI and combined totals.

Most Centuries In International Cricket: Country Leaders

The table below does not claim a complete country total. It identifies the leading player from each nation represented in this article’s verified top-20 dataset. That is the safer comparison because a complete country total would require every eligible men’s international player, including players outside the top 20.

This method also avoids treating “West Indies” as a modern country total or combining historical representative labels without explaining them. The names above are player records, not a claim that the country with the highest listed player has the most centuries in all international cricket.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Has Scored The Most Centuries In International Cricket?

Sachin Tendulkar leads men’s international cricket with 100 centuries: 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs.

Has Any Player Scored 100 International Centuries?

Yes. Tendulkar is the first and, in the October 2026 table used here, the only men’s player with 100 official international hundreds.

How Many International Centuries Has Virat Kohli Scored?

The current combined snapshot used here lists Kohli on 86: 30 Test hundreds, 55 ODI hundreds and one T20I hundred. The figure is dated to 16 October 2026 and can change after another international hundred.

Who Has The Most Test Centuries?

Tendulkar holds the Test record with 51 centuries. Kallis has 45, while Ponting and Root have 41 each.

Who Has The Most ODI Centuries?

Virat Kohli leads the current men’s ODI table with 55 centuries, ahead of Tendulkar on 49 and Rohit Sharma on 35.

Who Has The Most Centuries In T20I Cricket?

Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma share the men’s T20I record with five centuries each.

Are IPL Centuries Counted In International Centuries?

No. IPL hundreds are franchise records. This article counts only official men’s international Test, ODI and T20I innings, so IPL, BBL, county and other domestic hundreds are excluded.

Records And Data Cutoff

Records were checked on 16 October 2026. Only official men’s internationals count in the main tables. Active-player totals can change after later matches.

Explore more guides in the 4xSports Cricket library.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo records and official scorecards.