Most international batting records still belong to Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, and no one has yet come close. However, former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey believes he could have gone beyond Tendulkar’s achievements had he made his debut at a younger age.
Hussey, who began his international career in 2004 at the age of 29, said he would have scored at least 5,000 more runs than Tendulkar if he had debuted in his twenties. Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast, Hussey reflected on what could have been.
“I have thought a lot about it,” said the current Chennai Super Kings coach. “If I had got a chance to play for Australia in my twenties, I could have scored 5,000 more runs than Tendulkar. I would have had the most runs in cricket history. The most centuries too. The most wins, most Ashes victories, World Cups, everything. But those remained just dreams.”
Hussey played for Australia for nine years, scoring 12,488 international runs. In 79 Tests, he made 6,235 runs at an average of 51.52. In ODIs, he scored 5,442 runs in 185 matches at an average of 48.15. He also played 38 T20 internationals, scoring 721 runs. Across formats, he registered 22 international centuries and won a World Cup with Australia.
In contrast, Sachin Tendulkar debuted for India at the age of 16 and played for 24 years. He scored a total of 34,357 international runs, including 100 centuries. Tendulkar’s records include 15,921 runs in 200 Tests and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs, with 51 and 49 centuries respectively.
