England star Joe Root achieved a significant milestone in his career on Tuesday, September 22, becoming the first English batter to score 23,000 runs across all three formats. The milestone was achieved during the opening ODI against Sri Lanka at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. Root became only the eighth batter in men's international cricket to achieve the feat. Scoring 44 runs before getting out, he took his ODI tally to 7,870 and overall runs to 23,041. Joe Root Joins Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli in Elite List Root achieved the milestone in his 394th international match, becoming the only English batter to join the list of the greatest ever. India's Sachin Tendulkar leads the table, with 34,357 runs in men's international cricket. He is followed by Virat Kohli and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara. The milestone is another great achievement for the former England captain. He finds himself ahead of all-time England batter Alastair Cook, who scored 15,737 runs in 257 international matches. Joe Root has 14,278 Test runs, 7,870 ODI runs, and 893 T20I runs to his name. Despite not playing a T20I match in seven years, his exploits in Tests and ODIs have been enough to keep him among the top scorers in men's international cricket. Here's the complete list of batters with 23,000 or more international runs, including Root's latest achievement. Players Country Runs Sachin Tendulkar India 34,357 Virat Kohli India 28,359 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka 28,106 Ricky Ponting Australia 27,483 Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka 25,957 Jacques Kallis South Africa 25,534 Rahul Dravid India 24,208 Joe Root England 23,041 Also Read | Joe Root Creates History at Edgbaston, Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar in Major Test Record Joe Root Moves Closer to 8,000 ODI Runs After Scoring 44 Against Sri Lanka The 44-run knock brought Joe Root closer to yet another milestone. The former England captain now has 7,870 runs in ODIs and requires 130 more to become the first England batter to score 8,000 ODI runs. 35-year-old has been in brilliant form in limited-overs cricket this year. During England's ODI series against Sri Lanka in early 2026, he scored 61 and 75 in the first two matches before remaining unbeaten on 111 in the deciding match. The latest innings came after England had lost opener Tom Banton cheaply. Root then partnered with Ben Duckett before a mid-innings break. He then shared a 68-run stand with captain Harry Brook. Root's latest achievement adds to his already-impressive list of records in international cricket. With his Test and ODI career ongoing, he now has the chance to move up the all-time international runs chart. Currently, he is 161 runs short of Rahul Dravid's tally of 24,208 international runs.