3 Players with most Test runs before turning 25

Test cricket is considered the most demanding format of the game for several reasons. It is a test of skill, technique and temperament. Test cricket requires players to showcase perseverance, forbearance, and persistence.

Therefore, the runs scored in Tests carry a million-dollar value compared to the other two formats of the game. Test cricket is rarely kind to young batters, and they often find it the toughest nut to crack. However, there have been a few exceptionally talented batters over the years who have taken the bull by its horns and been highly successful in scoring runs by adapting to the demands of the red-ball game.

Here's a list of the top three run-getters who have aggregated the most runs in the longest format before turning 25:

#3 Graeme Smith (South Africa)

South Africa captain Graeme Smith is third on this elite list. Smith made his Test debut against Australia at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on March 8, aged 21 years and 35 days. But the former South Africa captain adapted quickly and scored runs at a breakneck speed.

He amassed 3608 runs in 75 innings, averaging 51.54 with the help of 12 fifties and 11 hundreds before turning 25 on February 1, 2006.

#2 Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies)

Ramnaresh Sarwan made his Test debut for West Indies against Pakistan in Bridgetown on May 18, 2000. The right-handed batter accumulated 3720 runs in 98 innings at an average of 40.87 before turning 25. Sarwan racked up 22 fifties and eight centuries before turning 25 on June 23, 2005.

The Guyanese cricketer finished his career with 5842 runs in 87 Tests, averaging 40.01, laced with 31 fifties and 15 hundreds.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar (India)

Sachin Tendulkar is on the top of the charts. Having made his debut for India at the tender age of 16 against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989, Tendulkar held himself well and showed remarkable mental fortitude and the zeal to learn.

Tendulkar adapted brilliantly and piled up 4552 runs in 92 innings before turning 25 on April 24, 1998. Tendulkar's runs came at 54.84, and he brought up 19 fifties and 16 centuries in the process. The Master Blaster finished as the leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs.

Top Test run-scorers before the age of 25