Hussey made almost 23000 runs in 273 FC matches, made his Australia debut at the age of 28.
Hussey reflected on his late introduction into international cricket, noting that starting sooner could have greatly increased his run total, potentially putting him ahead of Tendulkar in the record books.
Hussey, who made his international debut for Australia at the age of 28, is well-known for his consistency and performances in all formats. However, his overall career numbers remain significantly lower than Tendulkar's, owing primarily to his late start.
Known as “Mr. Cricket,” Hussey had an amazing domestic cricket career but failed to break into the dominant Australian team in the 2000s. His debut for Australia came in 2004, and Hussey went on to play 79 Tests, 185 ODIs, and 38 T20Is for Australia, winning the 2007 World Cup and two Champions Trophy wins with the Australian team.
He scored 6235 runs in Tests with 19 centuries at an average of 51.52, scored 5442 runs in ODIs at an average of 48.15 with three centuries, and also made 721 T20I runs with four fifties.
Hussey had an incredible first-class record, scoring nearly 23,000 runs at an average of more than 52, including 61 hundreds, in 273 games. However, the former left-hander was unable to establish himself at the club due to a strong Australian lineup in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
On a podcast Hussey spoke about how his career could have turned out if he had started playing for Australia as a teenager.
"I've thought about it a lot. I'd probably be about 5,000 runs past Sachin Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in the game. Most centuries, most wins, most Ashes wins, and the most World Cup wins—probably all those things. And then, unfortunately, I wake up in the morning, and it's just a dream. I would have loved an opportunity earlier, but the good thing for me was that when I got picked, I had a great understanding of my game,” he said on the Grade Cricketer podcast.
Tendulkar, on the other hand, made his debut for India when he was 16 years old and went on to have a 24-year career. He is still the highest run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs, and he has the most international hundreds with a whopping 100. In comparison, Hussey concluded his career with 22 international centuries, 78 fewer than the Indian great.