New era, new king? THIS Pakistani batter leaves Virat Kohli behind in decade's top run-scorers list

The landscape of international cricket has shifted dramatically, with Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam emerging as the leading international run-scorer between 2020 and 2025. This ascent comes at a sensitive time for Indian cricket, as two of its current superstars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, have declared their retirement from the Test and T20 International formats.

Babar Azam tops the list with an incredible 8222 runs from 183 games (202 innings) over the course of these six years, according to data collated by ESPNCricInfo. His 16 centuries and 62 half-centuries demonstrate his outstanding consistency in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. This solidifies his claim as the best batsman of this half-decade and places him far ahead of other international players.

His prolific teammate Mohammad Rizwan, who has scored 7231 runs in 183 games (191 innings), is right behind Azam. Pakistan's recent victories have been largely attributed to Rizwan's aggressive yet dependable batting, especially in the shortest format.

England stalwart Joe Root takes third spot with 6998 runs from just 103 games (151 innings). With the highest batting average of the top five and the most hundreds during this time, Root's supremacy beneath the red ball is highlighted by his remarkable 21 hundreds.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of India's greatest cricket players, are also on the select list. Rohit Sharma, with 5982 runs from 142 matches (169 innings), and Virat Kohli, with 6155 runs from 149 matches (173 innings), have been key contributors to India's impressive results.

However, the presence of Kohli and Sharma on this list marks a transitional phase for Indian cricket. Both players have made the momentous decision to retire from Test and T20I cricket, with Kohli retiring from Tests on May 12, 2025, and T20Is in June 2024. They will now focus solely on the 50-over format. Their next appearance in Indian colours is anticipated in October 2025, against Australia in Perth, while Babar Azam prepares for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.

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