KL Rahul will be in action when India take on Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series starting Saturday (August 15). Rahul made his return to the leadership group in Test cricket in June and he will be assisting Shubman Gill in the series. Rahul, who made his debut in 2014, is one of the most senior members of the Test team and will have huge responsibility in the series. Rahul has scored 4153 runs in 68 Tests and he is only two runs away from overtaking Gautam Gambhir in the elite list of Indian batters with the most Test runs.

Gambhir, the present head coach of Team India, finished his Test career with 4154 runs. The former India opener played 58 Tests. Interestingly, Gambhir was dropped from the playing XI after a fit-again Rahul made his Test return in 2016.

Gambhir’s tally of 4154 runs includes nine centuries and 22 half-centuries. Rahul has 12 tons and 20 half-centuries in the red-ball format. He has also captained India in three Tests.

Rahul became a regular member of the Test team after his debut and also joined the leadership group in 2022. His poor form forced the management to drop him from the playing XI and remove him from vice-captaincy in 2023. Three years later, he was reappointed the vice-captain.

Sachin Tendulkar tops the list of Indian batters with the most Test runs. The Master Blaster finished his career with 15921 runs in 200 Tests. No other batter has managed to breach the 15000-run mark.

With 13265 runs, Rahul Dravid sits in the second position. He and Sachin are the only two Indian batters to score more than 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs.

Sunil Gavaskar, the first batter to score 10000 Test runs, scored 10122 runs in 122 matches. Fourth-placed Virat Kohli finished his career with 9230 runs while fifth-placed VVS Laxman scored 8781 runs.