Pant becomes India’s leading WTC run-scorer, surpasses Gill

Rishabh Pant claimed the top position on India’s World Test Championship run-scoring list on August 24, 2026, moving ahead of Shubman Gill in the course of the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. Pant’s tally now stands at 2,948 runs from 42 Tests, with Gill sitting just behind on 2,917 runs from the same number of matches.

Pant’s contribution on the day was a knock of 63 runs, which ended when Keshara Nuwantha had him caught in the opening delivery of the afternoon session. That innings proved sufficient to carry him past Gill and place him at the head of India’s WTC batting figures. India posted 475 for 8 before rain curtailed play during the second session on Day 2, with Dhruv Jurel stranded on 95, five runs away from a maiden Test hundred, and Mohammed Siraj alongside him at the crease when the covers came on.

How does Pant’s WTC tally compare with other Indian batters?

Pant’s 2,948 runs from 42 Tests place him clear of the rest of India’s WTC contributors. Gill occupies second position on 2,917 runs from 42 Tests. Rohit Sharma is third with 2,716 runs from 40 Tests, followed by Ravindra Jadeja on 2,675 runs from 50 Tests and Virat Kohli on 2,617 runs from 46 Tests. Yashasvi Jaiswal, among the more recent additions to India’s Test line-up, has gathered 2,588 WTC runs from 30 Tests.

The margin separating Pant and Gill is narrow at 31 runs, but the August 24 knock gave Pant a lead he did not hold before the match began. The spread of figures across the list reflects how consistently India’s top-order and middle-order batters have contributed across multiple WTC cycles since the championship’s inception.

What other record did Pant set during this innings?

Alongside the WTC milestone, Pant also moved past MS Dhoni‘s aggregate to become the Indian wicketkeeper with the most runs in away and neutral Tests. Pant’s tally in that category crossed 2,500, going beyond Dhoni’s career mark of 2,496 in the same context.

The manner in which Pant reached the landmark adds further weight to the achievement. He has accumulated those runs at a batting average of close to 42, a considerably higher rate than Dhoni’s average of 32.84 in away and neutral conditions. The record reflects Pant’s sustained effectiveness as a wicketkeeper-batter when playing outside home conditions, a quality that has defined his Test career across multiple overseas tours.

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