5 players with 150 ODIs whose average never dropped below 35
One day International cricket has always been more demanding of batsmen as far as stroke-making is concerned. Batsmen need to be far more attacking, they need to take risks and score as quickly as possible during the latter half of the innings.
Needless to say, it is quite difficult to be wholly consistent over the course of a long career and maintain an average of at least 35 at all times. An average of 35 is what could be called 'decent' in ODIs and there have only been a handful of batsmen who never let their career average drop below 35 despite having played in excess of 150 ODIs. Here is a look at 5 of those batsmen.
#5 Mohammad Yousuf
The former Pakistani captain was one of their best batsmen in all formats of the game for the majority of the 1st decade of the new millennium. As an ODI player, Mohammad Yousuf held the middle-order together with his superb stroke-play, strike rotation and timely hitting. He was one of the world’s leading batsmen during his career and also one of the most consistent.
From 1998 to 2010, the elegant right-handed batsman played in 288 ODIs and averaged 41.72. He also scored 15 centuries and as many as 64 half-centuries. Throughout his career, the lowest his career average ever dropped to was 35.65 and hence, he was regarded as one of Pakistan’s most important players during the majority of his career.