Strongest ODI XI featuring players from the top ten of current ICC ODI Player Rankings
The latest update made to the ICC ODI Player Rankings by ICC (International Cricket Council) was on 14th December 2018. There were no drastic changes made to the rankings as most of the players retained their rankings.
Not to our surprise, Virat Kohli retained the top spot in ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen whereas Jasprit Bumrah and Rashid Khan did the same in the ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers and all-rounders respectively.
Hence, while considering the players who find a place in any of the ICC ODI Rankings (batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders), we will try and churn out a dominant and competitive playing XI who could beat any ODI team in the world at this juncture of time.
Note: The stats are true as of 1 January 2018. Moreover, Steve Smith and David Warner are not considered for the list for obvious reasons.
#1 Rohit Sharma (India): Current ICC ODI Ranking (Batsmen) - 2nd
Rohit Sharma, India's premier opening batsman, had a decent 2018 with majors in ODI cricket. He proved to be one of the most significant batsmen for India in the 50-over format for the year 2018. Much so, he finished as the second highest run-scorer in ODIs in the year 2018. In 2018, Hitman amassed 1030 ODI runs at an average of 73.57 and a strike-rate of 100.09.
Moreover, he also hit five centuries and three fifties. Thus, with more than a good 2018, Rohit ended his year as a highly-ranked ODI batsman. Hence, his place in the playing XI.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan (India): Current ICC ODI Ranking (Batsmen) - 9th
Joining Sharma in the opening department would be his teammate-cum-opening partner Shikhar Dhawan. Fondly known as Gabbar, Dhawan had an exceptional year in ODI cricket. Besides, he also managed to achieve a few monumental achievements.
In the year 2018, while hitting three centuries and two fifties, Shikhar scored 897 runs for India at a decent average of 49.83 and a strike-rate of 102.28. In the process, he also finished as India's third highest-scorer in ODIs. Pending his vital contributions for India in recent times, Dhawan moved to 2019 as one of the top ten ranked ODI batsmen in the world.