India's top 5 ODI opening batsmen of all time
The craft of batting has transpired a lot over the years which extols the beauty of cricket. Batting is not just about scoring tons of runs, it’s also about the flair and grace some batsmen bring to the table to enthrall the viewers.
Different batting positions offer different challenges to batsmen, but the toughest of them all is to open the innings, when the ball is new. An opening batsmen should have the required skill to open the innings because there is a good chance that a batsman’s technique might get exposed when the ball is new.
Since India started playing cricket they have produced many great opening batsmen whose contribution to Indian cricket has been significant. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Navjot Singh Sidhu paved the way to several classy opening batsmen.
Here, we have a look at the top 5 best Indian opening batsman of all time in ODIs.
#5 Rohit Sharma
From being an average middle-order batsman to become a prolific opening batsman, Rohit Sharma has come a long way and has made the opening spot his own, thanks to the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who believed in his potential and backed him up.
An average which was floating around the mid 30’s, has now increased to 42, and as an opener, he averages 50, which is a brilliant number.
The first glimpse of Sharma opening the batting took place during the Champions Trophy back in 2013, where he had a productive tournament, and since then, the Mumbai batsman hasn't looked back.
(Video Courtesy: M7 Cricket YouTuve Channel)
He went on to break many ODI records and has placed himself as one of the best opening batsmen in the modern generation. Opening the batting has definitely helped Rohit’s approach to the game; not alone his technique, but the mental aspect of the game too.
The 29-year-old has achieved a special feat in his ODI career which no batsman could dream of doing – he is the only batsman to have scored two double centuries in ODI’s. Sharma has scored 5008 runs in 148 matches at an impeccable average of 42.08, with a highest individual score of 264, which is very unlikely to be broken.