Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2014: ODI Batsmen of the Year

In a year that saw a double hundred in ODIs and a big one at that, Rohit Sharma’s 264, it is a sign of great competition that he doesn’t figure even in the top 5. However, most players in the top 5 are players who have had great years in both Tests and ODIs. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and their newly anointed skipper Angelo Matthews being two of them.In terms of ODI runs, it has largely been Sri Lanka and South Africa’s year, though a few other batsmen have sneaked in. We take a look at the top batsmen in ODIs this year, who have compiled tons of runs, especially against tougher oppositions. Joe Root with 872 runs, Shikhar Dhawan with 815, Tillakaratne Dilshan with 990 runs, Mahela Jayawardene with 846 runs and Faf du Plessis with 790 runs miss out narrowly from the list.

#5 Hashim Amla

Leave alone captaining the side, it was tough to even imagine Hashim Amla playing regularly for South Africa in ODIs. Yet, this year, he has notched up 892 runs at 52.47 in just 18 innings at the top of the order.

His strike-rate is still relatively slower at 80.57, but the quality of his batting is obvious from the fact that from the 7 times he has gone beyond a 50, he went on to score a century 5 times, including tough ones away against Australia and Sri Lanka. Even on the overall charts for runs scored, he is No.5, in spite of playing just 18 games, combining well with AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, who have had prolific years too.