Most Matches Played In World Cup

Last Modified Jul 15, 2019 14:07 IST

In the 12 World Cup editions so far, twenty different countries have participated at least once. As a result, the number of cricketers to have played the Cricket World Cup is pretty large. Most of the cricketers failed to mark in these tournaments and hence are not known for their World Cup performances.

On the other hand, some of the international players, who are legends, also went on to become World Cup legends. Only 2 cricketers so far have played in 6 different editions of the World Cup, Javed Miandad (Pakistan) and Sachin Tendulkar (India).

Find the detailed list of highest matches played in the Cricket World Cup by a cricketer -

Most Number of Appearances In World Cup

PositionPlayerTeamSpanMatches
1Ricky PontingAustralia1996-201146
2Sachin TendulkarIndia1992-201145
3Mahela JayawardeneSri Lanka1999-201540
4Muttiah MuralitharanSri Lanka1996-201140
5Glenn McGrathAustralia1996-200739
6Sanath JayasuriyaSri Lanka1992-200738
7Wasim AkramPakistan1987-200338
8Kumar SangakkaraSri Lanka2003-201537
9Jacques KallisSouth Africa1996-201136
10Aravinda de SilvaSri Lanka1987-200335
11Chris GayleWest Indies2003-201935
12Inzamam-ul-HaqPakistan1992-200735

However, when it comes down to the most number of World Cup matches played, Australian batsman Ricky Ponting is above all. The legendary right-handed batsman has played 46 matches in the World Cup from 1996 to 2011. India’s Sachin Tendulkar is ranked second with 45 matches from 1992 to 2011.

Sri Lankan legends Mahela Jayawardene and Muttiah Muralitharan are the only two other cricketers to have played 40 or more World Cup matches.

Five Sri Lankans find themselves in the list of the Top 10 cricketers to feature in most World Cup matches played.

Also read - Biggest world cup win

ICC Cricket World Cup Final - Australia v Sri Lanka

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