Top 5 Indian ODI opening batsmen of all time
In the history of ODI International Cricket, India has been one of the most successful teams, after Australia. They have won two World Cups (1983 and 2011), which is second only to Australia, who have won it five times. The Indian ODI teams have also performed very well in other important ODI tournaments, like the Mini World Cup (Champions Trophy), Asia Cup, Benson and Hedges Tournament and other triangular and bilateral series.
Over the years, India's performance in the shorter format of the game has improved. India became an important force to reckon with, ever since they won the World Cup in 1983. However, they were not very consistent.
As a result, up to the 1990s, they were mostly among the top five teams in the world but were rarely in the top three.
But in the 21st century, the Indian ODI teams improved a lot. The change started under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, when India, became one of the powerhouses of One Day International cricket. Then MS Dhoni took the team one step further. It was under Dhoni's captaincy, that the team became the best in the world.
They won their second World Cup in 2011 and won other important tournaments like the Champions Trophy in England and the triangular CB Series in Australia. Then Virat Kohli, took over the reign from MS Dhoni and made the team even stronger. At present, the Indian ODI team is not only at the top of the ladder, but they are being considered as one of the best teams in the history of the game.
The main credit for the success of Indian ODI teams, over the years, should go to its great batsmen. The country has produced some of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time.
From the highest run-scorer to the scorer of the highest individual score in an ODI, it is the Indian players who hold most of the batting records. In this article, we try and pick the five best One-day International opening batsmen that India has ever produced.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan
Matches: 115, Runs: 4935, Highest Score: 137, Average: 45.70, Centuries: 15
Shikhar Dhawan has played only 115 ODI Matches. But what he has already achieved in his short career, makes him one of the best Indian ODI Openers of all time. He has scored almost 5000 runs, at an incredible average of 45.70, which is better than even the greats, like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag.
Shikhar Dhawan's opening partnership with Rohit Sharma, has been the best in the world, in recent years. This swashbuckling left-hander from Delhi, has played many memorable matches winning innings for India at the top of the order.
Dhawan's ability to score big runs consistently, in spite of playing a very attacking brand of cricket, is what makes him so special. He has been instrumental behind India's tremendous success in the ODI format in recent years, alongside Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.