The Indian cricket team is scheduled to play England in one Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is in England in the month of July. The only Test match of the tour is the rescheduled Test for the five-match Test series during India's tour of England in 2021.

Also Read: Most Man of the series in T20I for India

India was leading 2-1 and before they could take on England in the fifth Test in Manchester. The hosts, England were hit with a series of COVID-19 cases, and eventually, the match was deferred. Both Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the England Cricket Board (ECB) mutually decided to reschedule the fifth Test in 2022, when India was already scheduled to play white-ball fixtures.

India and England have faced each other 130 times in Test cricket alone. Out of which, England won 49 battles whereas India turned victorious on 31 occasions. Meanwhile, the rest 50 matches ended with a draw. Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer (2535 runs in 32 Tests) in the old rivalry between these two teams. Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook leads the charts for his country with 2431 runs in 30 Tests.

Let us look at the top 5 active Indian batters who have piled up the most test runs against England.

Top 5 Active Indian Batters With Most Test Runs Against England

Read Also: Most test runs as captain for England

#5. Ajinkya Rahane | 840

Ajinkya Rahane played his first Test series against England in the 2014 tour. Meanwhile, on the tour, he amassed 299 runs in 10 innings at an average of 33.22. He has also scored 103 in the second Test at the Lord's. On his second trip to England, Rahane scored 257 runs in the five Tests at 25.70 with the best score of 81.

Rahane wasn't at his best in India's twin Test series at home (112 in four Tests) and away (109 in four Tests). Moreover, he lost his vice-captaincy position because of a lack of consistency. He was subsequently dropped for the Sri Lanka Test series in February. Rahane will also miss the last game of the series due to the hamstring injury that he sustained during IPL 2022.

#4. KL Rahul | 847

KL Rahul scored 199 in the Chennai Test of the five-match Test series against England. This was his first Test series against Alastair Cook & co. It was also the same game where Karun Nair slammed a triple ton to power India to a commendable 759/7 in the first innings.

The Indian opener didn't have great outings in the first four games during the 2018 tour of England but made a big testament of his guile in the Oval Test, scoring 149 in the second innings to lead India's resistance along with Rishabh Pant.

After a two-year hiatus from red-ball cricket, the Karnataka player made a stellar comeback against England in the four Tests in 2021. Rahul replaced injured Mayank Agarwal in the five-match series. He added 315 runs in four Tests at an average of 39.38. Meanwhile, he also made it to the Lord's Honours Boards for his 129 in the second Test.

Unfortunately for the Indian team, Rahul will miss the England tour this year to travel to Germany for his medical treatment.

Also Read: Most Test runs in Cricket history: Top 14

#3. Ravichandran Ashwin | 970

Ravichandran Ashwin has scored 970 runs against England in 31 innings at an average of 37.30 with six fifties and one century since playing against them for the first time in 2012 in Ahmedabad. His best Test series in terms of the bat was the 2016 home series, amassing 306 runs at 43.71 with four half-centuries, only England batter Joe Root hit the same number of the fifties in that series from both sides.

Ashwin hit 106 in the second Test against England in Chennai during the four-match home series in 2021. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder was benched in all four Tests of India's tour of England in 2021 as Ravindra Jadeja was preferred ahead of him. Meanwhile, the off-spinning all-rounder is also doubtful for the fifth test as he tested positive for Covid-19 on June 20.

#2. Cheteshwar Pujara | 1699

Pujara's series score against England in six Test series read as follows – 438 (2012), 222 (2014), 401 (2016), 278 (2018), 133 (2021 in India), 227 (2021 in England). Cheteshwar Pujara slammed his maiden double-hundred against England in the Ahmedabad Test in 2012.

Read Also: Most first-class double centuries by Asian cricketers

The Saurashtra batter has accumulated 1699 runs against England in 26 Tests at 39.51 with six half-centuries and three hundred, he has scored more runs only against Australia – 1893 runs in 20 Tests. Pujara had a lean patch in the first two matches but scores of 91 and 61 regained his momentum.

Pujara has been named in the 16-member Test squad for the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham. India would rely on their experienced red-ball campaigner to score runs against Anderson & co. Pujara will also take a cue from his county stint with Sussex in the 2022 County Championship, scoring 624 runs at an average of 124.80 in just 7 innings.

#1. Virat Kohli | 2353

Virat Kohli might be going through a tough phase in his career but the records can never be overlooked to define the guile of the Indian prolific batter. The King has hit five of his 27 Test hundreds against England.

Also Read: Virat Kohli records: Everything Kohli achieved as captain

Kohli was twice the leading run-scorer of the India-England Test series. He scored 655 in eight innings in 2016 at home followed by a massive comeback in 2018 in England with 593 runs in 10 innings. Kohli was the victim of James Anderson in the 2014 tour but came with his homework against his nemesis in India's 2018 tour of England.

The former Indian skipper made 218 runs in four Tests against England in their own backyard. His fans could expect him to break the shackles and score the much-anticipating 71st international hundred in the series-decider game against England.

Cricket today is almost entirely a batsman's game. Flat pitches, small boundaries and bigger bats have tilted the game heavily in favor of the batsmen. The bowlers have got nowhere to hide and, the advent of T20s, where the batsmen go after them from the first ball itself have made it even more difficult.

The T20 format has brought about a revolution where the bowlers are more than grateful to keep the run rate down, rather than to take wickets. India made a wonderful foray into the shortest format of the game, winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Over the years India is blessed to have got some big hitters in their line up who are capable of clearing any boundary in the world.

In this article we will take a look at those batters with most sixes for India in T20Is.

Most Sixes for India in T20Is

5. Hardik Pandya | 95

Hardik Pandya debuted in T20I cricket in 2016 and swiftly established himself as a key member of India's preferred playing eleven, serving as a seam-bowling all-rounder. His T20I career reached its peak in 2024, marked by outstanding all-round performances during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, helping India clinch the title. In terms of batting, Pandya has struck 95 sixes across 90 T20I innings.

Pandya has been included in the Men in Blue's 15-member squad for this year's Asia Cup. If Pandya manages to hit five more maximums in the Asia Cup, then he will go on to surpass KL Rahul's tally of 99 sixes in the shortest format. This will see the all-rounder become the Indian player with the fourth-most sixes in T20Is.

Also Read: Highest Wicket Taker in Asia Cup History (ODI + T20)

4. KL Rahul | 99

KL Rahul, who was once a consistent member of the T20I squad now finds himself out of favour in the T20I setup. Between 2016 and 2022, he played in 72 T20I matches and mostly batted in the top three.

He hit 99 sixes in 68 T20I innings. Following the T20 World Cup 2022, he was excluded from the shortest format due to his outdated approach to T20 cricket, as he did not improve his intent and strike rate.

3. Virat Kohli | 124

The Run Machine Virat Kohli has hit 124 sixes in 117 T20I innings for India. He is one of the most consistent players in the Indian team, with an average of 48.69. He made his T20I debut for India in 2010 and since then he has been a cornerstone of India's batting. Kohli also recorded 4,188 runs in T20I format, which included 38 fifties. 

“King Kohli” was part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup in June 2024. After winning the trophy, Kohli announced his retirement from the format. 

2. Suryakumar Yadav | 146*

Yet another batsman who has made six-hitting look extremely easy is India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. Despite making his T20I debut in March 2021 with a match against England, the elegant middle-order batter has already launched 146 maximums in just 79 innings for Team India.

Having the ability to hit sixes at all parts of the ground with relative ease makes Yadav, a.k.a SKY, draw a comparison with South Africa’s great AB De Villiers who was called Mr. 360 in cricket. His centuries have also come against big teams like England, South Africa, and New Zealand apart from Sri Lanka. He has hit the most number of T20I sixes against West Indies (35).  

1. Rohit Sharma | 205

Former Indian T20I captain Rohit Sharma hit the most sixes for India in T20Is, having hit 205 sixes in 159 games he played. He made his debut for India in the 2007 T20 World Cup against South Africa. However, he failed to cement his place in the team. The turnaround came in the 2013 Champions Trophy when MS Dhoni promoted him up the order to open the batting with Shikhar Dhawan.

Also Read: Most matches by an Indian in international cricket

The mighty Australians have been Rohit's favourite opponent in this format against whom he has hit 29 sixes in 23 matches with Bangladesh being the second, conceding 22 sixes off his willow. Fondly called the “Hitman”, Rohit Sharma hung up his boots from T20Is after delivering the 2024 T20 World Cup title for India.   

The Indian team has given the country and the world many great batsmen, whose batting is admired by the whole world. Whether these players are playing at home or abroad, they have shown their batting prowess everywhere.

There have been a few who have made their nation proud with record appearances in all three formats for the Indian cricket side. While some have been able to represent India in a record number of matches, others have done a significant job in all three formats, time and time again. 

In this article, we will be discussing about most matches by an Indian in international cricket.

Also Read: Can You Guess the Indian with Most ICC Appearances?

Most matches by an Indian in international cricket

1. Sachin Tendulkar | 664

Sachin Tendulkar is the player who has played the most matches for the Indian team in international cricket. From 1989 to 2013, the Master Blaster has played a total of 664 matches in international cricket, in which he has scored 34537 runs at an impressive average of 48.52. He is the only batsman to score 100 centuries in international cricket.

Tendulkar featured in 200 Test matches, where he scored 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78, while he had 51 centuries in the format. On the other hand, he made his ODI appearances in 463 games to score 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83, where he struck runs at a strike rate of 86.23. Also, he was also the first player in the format to score a double-century. Meanwhile, he also made a lone T20I appearance against South Africa in 2006.

2. Virat Kohli | 550

Virat Kohli is second in terms of playing the most number of international matches for India. Kohli, who began his international career in 2008, scored a total of 27599 runs at an average of 52.36 in 550 matches, in which 82 centuries have come from his bat. Kohli's highest score in international cricket has been 254* runs. 

Kohli has represented India in 123 Test matches, while he has made 302 and 125 appearances in ODI and T20Is. Kohli has dominated in all three formats, where ODI has been his forte with 14,180 runs at an average of 57.88, with his 51 centuries. On the other hand, he has 9,230 runs in Test cricket, while having 4,188 runs in the duration of his T20I career.

3. MS Dhoni | 535

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has retired after the 2019 World Cup from international cricket. Debuting in the year 2004, MS Dhoni went on to play 535 matches for India where he amassed a total of 17,092 runs while averaging 44.74 across formats. During this, 15 centuries have come from his bat. Under Dhoni's captaincy, the Indian team won the T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and ODI World Cup titles.

The Indian wicketkeeper batter was the most reliable player in ODI cricket with 10,773 runs in 350 matches. While he made 90 Test appearances to score 4,876 runs, whereas he played 98 matches in the shortest format with 1,617 runs during his career.

4. Rahul Dravid | 504

Rahul Dravid has played cricket for the Indian team from 1996 to 2012. During this time, he featured in a total of 504 matches for the Men in Blue, while scoring a total of 24,064 runs at an average of 45.57. He scored 48 centuries in international cricket.

Dravid, also called as The Wall, was one of the most celebrated players of his time with 164 Test appearances powered by 344 ODI games, while he played a lone T20I match. In Test cricket, Dravid was a beast with 13,288 runs, whereas in one-day cricket, he was at his best with 10,889 runs. Dravid has also been the coach of Team India and under his coaching the Indian team won the T20 World Cup 2024 title.

Also Read: Most Test Centuries in Cricket History

5. Rohit Sharma | 499*

Rohit Sharma played his first international cricket match for the Indian team in 2007. He is just one game away from the record figure of 500 after featuring in 499 matches so far in his overall international career.

Now, Rohit has retired from T20I and Test cricket. He is currently playing in ODIs. In his combined career, Sharma has amassed 19,700 runs at an average of 42.18, while he has scored a total of 49 centuries in all forms of the game for India.

Additionally, Rohit led India to back-to-back two ICC trophies, the 2024 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy 2025. He has five centuries in the T20I format for India. Moreover, with 11,168 runs in 273 ODIs, he is also one of the top-notch run-scorers.

The controversy over the key members of the Indian Test team not being selected for major domestic cricket tournaments continues to grow. Now The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed strong displeasure over the exclusion of top international players like KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj from the South Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.

After this, the Board has officially written a letter to all the state associations asking them to give priority to the selection of centrally contracted players for this opening tournament of the domestic season.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy: Ajinkya Rahane steps down from Mumbai captaincy ahead of the new season

Many big names were not included

South Zone announced its team on July 27. Many big names like KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna and Sai Sudharsan were not included in it.

The Duleep Trophy, which begins in Bengaluru on August 28, is considered an important platform for domestic and national level talents. The board did not like the decision of the South Zone to not include these players in the team despite their availability during the off-season.

Abey Kuruvilla wrote the email

BCCI General Manager of Cricket Operations Abey Kuruvilla addressed the issue in an email sent to zonal coordinators and state units last week. According to the reports, Kuruvilla stressed the importance of ensuring the participation of all available Indian players to maintain the prestige and competitive level of the Duleep Trophy. 

Kuruvilla wrote in the email, “To uphold its prestige and ensure the highest quality of competition, it’s imperative that all currently available India players are selected for their respective zonal teams. Requesting the Zonal Convenors to ensure that all the current India players who are available to play Duleep trophy should be picked.”

“All players, contracted or otherwise, who make themselves available for selection into Team India, shall participate in domestic matches conducted by BCCI,” 

“In case any player opts not to participate in any domestic cricket tournaments in spite of availability, he/she shall not be considered for selection unless a prior recommendation is obtained to skip the match/tournament from the National coach and the chairman of the selection committee, and prior approval from the BCCI. In case any leave is granted, the same shall be considered on the basis of some valid and cogent reason.” the email said.

Instructions to give priority to domestic cricket

This directive is in line with the BCCI's policy of making participation of international players mandatory in domestic competitions. The board had previously warned players against giving priority to the IPL over first-class cricket and earlier this year reminded all contracted players to remain committed to the domestic calendar.

However, this instruction from BCCI has come after South Zone announced its team. It is still not clear whether the selectors will make any changes in their list or not. Tilak Verma was made the captain of the team.

Also Read: Duleep Trophy: Shardul Thakur to lead the West Zone; no Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the squad

Questions were raised on international players

Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Shreyas Iyer among many other players are expected to participate in the tournament representing their respective regions.

The state associations have previously expressed concern that the automatic inclusion of Indian stars in the regional teams overlooks Ranji players who have performed consistently throughout the season.

Many have argued that matches such as India A tours and Board President's XI would be a more suitable platform for international players, leaving regional tournaments as a rewarding avenue for domestic players.

The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 is to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka and a total of 8 teams are to participate in it. But even before the tournament starts, a big change has been made in its schedule.

After the stampede in Bengaluru, the ICC has now decided to shift the matches to be held at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to the ground in Navi Mumbai, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Friday.

Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Indian squad announced, Shefali Verma not in the team

Matches cancelled in Bengaluru due to RCB stampede case

After 17 years of long wait, RCB team finally won the IPL 2025 title. After this, RCB players gathered at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to celebrate the victory. There was a huge crowd to see them and after this many fans lost their lives due to a stampede.

Then the Karnataka government formed a commission, which declared the Bengaluru ground unsafe for big events. Now after this, the ICC has decided not to hold matches on the Bengaluru ground.

Matches will be held at Navi Mumbai ground

The match between India and Sri Lanka was to be held on 30 September at Bengaluru ground, which will now be played at Guwahati ground. The match between England and South Africa was also scheduled to be held on 3 October, which will now be held in Guwahati. The match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on 20 October was to be played at Colombo ground, which will now be played at Navi Mumbai ground. 

On the other hand, Navi Mumbai has got two more matches to be played in Bengaluru. These include India vs New Zealand (23 October) and India vs Bangladesh (26 October). There is also a strong possibility that the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 final will be held either in Navi Mumbai or Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Also Read: India Cricket team's performance in every ICC Women's World Cup

Jay Shah expressed satisfaction about the new venue

"Navi Mumbai has emerged as a genuine home for women’s cricket in recent years. The support it has received during international fixtures and the Women’s Premier League has been remarkable, creating an atmosphere that elevates the players and inspires fans. I am certain that the same energy will define the big matches of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup as it returns to India after 12 years," Jay Shah said in an ICC release.

“We stand at a pivotal moment in the journey of the women’s game. This World Cup has the potential to be remembered as one of those defining milestones that shaped the sport’s future, not only in India but across the cricketing world.

“While unforeseen circumstances required us to adjust the schedule and replace a venue, we are pleased to now have a line-up of five world-class venues that will showcase the very best of the women’s game. The stage is set, and I am confident this tournament will capture imaginations and inspire a new generation of fans.”

Veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane, on Thursday, has resigned from the captaincy ahead of the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. In a message on social media, Rahane made it clear that this is the time when the team should get a chance to develop new leadership.

Captaining and winning championships with the Mumbai team has been an absolute honour.

With a new domestic season ahead, I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader, and hence I’ve decided not to continue in the captaincy role.

I remain fully committed to giving my best…

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) August 21, 2025

Also Read: BCCI extends Ajit Agarkar's contract as Chairman of Selectors till June 2026

'I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader'

Rahane posted on his social media account that he would not continue as Mumbai captain in Ranji Trophy but would continue to represent the side as a player.

“Captaining and winning championships with the Mumbai team has been an absolute honour. With a new domestic season ahead, I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader, and hence I’ve decided not to continue in the captaincy role. I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with @MumbaiCricAssoc to help us win more trophies. Looking forward to the season,” Rahane wrote on his X account.

Mumbai Team under Rahane's captaincy

Under Rahane's captaincy, Mumbai achieved stability and success in domestic cricket. Under his leadership, Mumbai ended a seven-year drought by winning the Ranji Trophy in 2023–24. Apart from this, he also led the team to victory in the Irani Cup in 2024-25 and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2022-23. These victories took his captaincy to new heights.

Despite giving up captaincy, the 37-year-old, who has scored over 14,000 runs in 201 first-class matches, made it clear that he is not retiring. He will continue to represent Mumbai as a batsman in all formats.

Rahane said that he will work for the team as a batsman with full enthusiasm and commitment. His main goal is to bring success to the team and help the new captain in his development.

Also Read: Five things from Asia Cup team announcement press conference

Who will be the new captain?

India allrounder Shardul Thakur will lead the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team for forthcoming season.

Thakur leading Mumbai was always on the cards especially after he was appointed as West Zone captain for Duleep Trophy. It is understood that the Mumbai senior selection committee spoke to Rahane before the season and had taken his feedback about future captaincy candidates.

Thakur has been playing a vital role in Mumbai’s Ranji success over the past few years. In addition to wickets, he has also bailed out Mumbai with lower-order runs. He also scored 505 runs for Mumbai last season where he slammed one hundred. He also took 35 wickets in nine matches.