Opening batters are the players who begin a cricket team’s batting innings. They play with a fresh ball and face an early onslaught from the other team’s quick bowlers. Opening batters must have excellent hand-eye coordination and skill to respond to furious fast bowlers.
Furthermore, they have a range of shots at their disposal to provide an early lift to any batting side. They are also known to score large runs in ODIs if they stay on the pitch for the opening few spells. And now for our special ranking of the best opening batsmen in ODI cricket:-
10) Tamim Iqbal:
Tamim Iqbal, a Bangladeshi cricketer, is now the opening batsman for the Bangladesh national side. He also played for the Chittagong Division, Peshawar Zalmi, Comilla Victorians, and Nangarhar Leopards, among others.
Tamim, one of the finest left-handed batsman in modern cricket, also played for the Indian Premier League team Pune Warriors. Tamim Iqbal was the first Bangladeshi cricketer to reach the 6,000-run mark in one-day internationals.
In addition, he just played his 200th ODI against India during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. In 2011, he received the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack Best Cricketer Award.
Since then, he has consistently been among the top 50 in the ICC ODI batting rankings.
Tamim is one of the best opening batsmen in ODI cricket.
9) Martin Guptil:
Martin Guptill, one of the top opening batters in ODIs, now plays for the New Zealand national cricket team. He also bowls right-arm off break on occasion.
He represents Auckland and Worcestershire in domestic cricket. He also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. In 2018, he signed a new contract with the New Zealand side, and he will compete in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Martin Guptill is one of just a handful of opening batsmen in ODI history who have scored a double century. In addition, he has established himself as one of the finest cricketers the Kiwis have ever produced.
Finest of the Kiwis:
He has now scored more than 180 runs in a single match three times. That record still holds today for the New Zealand team.
Guptill scored his first international century in an ODI against the West Indies in Auckland in 2009. Guptil’s 122-run innings were dubbed “one of the greatest I’ve seen in a long time” by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.
His century was New Zealand’s first in their ODI debut. He went on to post the greatest ODI score by a New Zealander in June 2013, reaching 189 not out against England at Southampton. The score was the fifth-highest in any ODI at the time, and it tied for the highest individual score against England.
Be it test cricket or limited-overs cricket, this ODI batsman has proven himself several times in international cricket to make it to the ICC ODI team again and again.
8) Shikhar Dhawan:
Shikhar Dhawan, one of the finest hard hitters in cricket, is now the Indian national cricket team opening batsman. In addition, he represents the Delhi squad in domestic cricket.
He also plays for the Punjab Kings of the Indian Premier League. He formerly played for the Delhi capitals, Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Shikhar Dhawan was named to the ICC World ODI XI in 2013. In addition, he was named CEAT international batsman of the year in 2018. He also has the most runs in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
In addition, he scored the most runs in the 2018 Unimoni Asia Cup. He also holds the record for the fastest batsman to reach 1000-run in ICC Cricket tournaments.
Dhawan made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Australia at Visakhapatnam in October 2010. In his 100th ODI, he became the first Indian and ninth overall to achieve a century in the 4th ODI against South Africa in Johannesburg.
He scored 114 in the opening match of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy against South Africa at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
On 10 March 2019, he scored 143 in an ODI against Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Chandigarh.
Inconsistency:
Dhawan made a blunder during his initial years of being inconsistent and if not for inconsistencies, we could have seen Dhawan at a much highest position in the list of best opening batsmen in ODI cricket.
But nevertheless, whenever talking about ODI openers, Dhawan never fails to get a special mention.
7) Jonny Bairstow:
Jonathan Marc Bairstow, born September 26, 1989, is an English cricketer who represents England National cricket team in all forms. He represents Yorkshire in domestic county cricket and has played in several Twenty20 competitions, notably the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings.
Bairstow made his One Day International and Twenty20 International (T20I) debuts in 2011, and his Test debut in 2012. He was a member of England’s ODI Cricket World Cup-winning squad in 2019.
Bairstow was a member of England’s one-day international team for their match against Ireland in August 2011, however he was not selected to play. He made his debut the following month, when he was called up for the last One-Day International against India.
He hit an unbeaten 41 off 21 balls as a specialist batsman to assist England to reach a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted total.
He was chosen Man of the Match after his innings contained three sixes, the first off the fifth ball he faced to announce the arrival of one of the best opening batsmen in ODI.
Bairstow is one of those players who decide the momentum of the game. He can play aggressive cricket starting from the first few spells of the bowling attack as we have seen in terms of the T20 cricket world cup or he can slow down the game by seeing the quick fall of the wicket by his team.
At present, he is one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in ODI cricket.
6) Imam – Ul – Haq:
Imam-ul-Haq, one of the top opening batters in one-day internationals, now represents Pakistan. He also plays for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and Balochistan in the local league.
He has also previously played for teams such as Lahore Shalimar and Habib Bank Limited. He just joined the Pakistani side that competed in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Imam-ul-Haq is just the second batsman in history to achieve a century in his maiden match. He just signed a central deal with PCB throughout the 2018-19 cricket season.
Cricket in his veins:
Aside from his reputation as a brilliant opener, he is also the nephew of former Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.
He was picked to Pakistan’s One Day International (ODI) team for their series against Sri Lanka in October 2017.
On 18 October 2017, he made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Sri Lanka, scoring a maiden ODI century and was awarded man of the match. After Saleem Elahi, he became the second Pakistan batsman to make an ODI century debut.
On 20 July 2018, he and Fakhar Zaman had the biggest opening partnership in ODIs, with 304 runs, in the fourth ODI against Zimbabwe.
Pakistan’s innings ended at 399 for the loss of one wicket, their best ODI total. Zaman and Imam had combined for 705 runs in the series, the greatest by a duo in a bilateral ODI series.
These stats are enough to prove that Imam is one of the best opening batsmen in ODI cricket.
5) Jason Roy:
Jason Roy, one of the top cricketers in the world, now plays for the England national cricket team. He also represents the Surrey domestic cricket club. He also played for the Quetta Gladiators and the Sylhet Sixers.
He has played for Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. He just joined the England squad that won the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Since his England debut, Jason Roy has consistently been in the ICC ODI Ranking. He also holds the record for the most runs scored by an England batsman in an ODI.
In addition to his ODI opening position, he currently bats in the middle order in domestic cricket.
A fun fact about him is that he is the first batsman in T20 international history to declare out for obstructing the field.
Records:
Jason Roy was part of a 256-run opening partnership with Alex Hales against Sri Lanka in 2016, which was the biggest successful run chase in ODIs without losing a wicket. It is also England’s highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs.
In an ODI against Australia on 14 January 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Jason Roy scored 180 (off 151 balls) and paired with Joe Root for England’s greatest record third-wicket stand (to date), with 221 runs off 220 balls.
The England Batsman is no doubt the best opening batsman in ODI cricket for England and one of the best opening batsmen in ODI cricket in terms of world cricket.
4) Quinton De Kock:
Quinton de Kock, a wicketkeeper-batsman, is now the South African cricket team’s opening batsman. In addition, he plays domestic cricket for Titans.
He formerly played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He just joined the South African side that competed in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Quinton de Kock was named Cricketer of the Year in 2017 by Cricket South Africa. He is the fourth player in ODI history to hit three straight centuries.
He also became the fastest South African cricketer to achieve 1000 runs in ODIs. He married his long-term girlfriend Sasha Hurly in September 2016.
The young opening batsman:
De Kock has already hit a five-century by the 20th ODI. He became the fourth player in history to achieve three consecutive one-day hundreds and the second player in history to reach four ODI centuries before turning 21.
On 10 February 2017, he became the quickest player to complete 12 ODI hundreds, surpassing Hashim Amla, who had done it in 81 innings, in his 74th ODI against Sri Lanka.
De Kock and Hashim Amla achieved the best ODI run stand for South Africa in the 2017 series against Bangladesh, with an unbroken partnership of 282 runs.
This is also the highest-ever One-Day International partnership without losing a wicket. The ICC awarded him wicket keeper of the World ODI XI for his achievements in 2017.
During the home ODI series against England on 4 February 2020, De Kock achieved his 15th ODI century and became the joint second-fastest South African to reach 5,000 ODI runs.
In the same game, he became just the second wicketkeeper opening batsman after Adam Gilchrist to get a century in ODIs while captaining the side.
3) David Warner:
David Warner, one of the most successful cricket captains, presently plays for the Australian national side. He also represents New South Wales in domestic cricket.
Furthermore, he is now an opening batter for the Indian Premier League team Delhi Capitals. He has also previously played for many local clubs, including the Delhi Daredevils and the Sydney Thunder.
David Warner has won the Indian Premier League’s Orange Cap three times. In addition, he was named to the ICC Test Team of the Year four times between 2012 and 2022. He was also named to the ICC ODI Team of the Year thrice.
He has also won the Australian One Day International Player of the Year award thrice.
Controversy:
In March 2018, he was suspended, accused of bringing the game into disgrace, following a preliminary inquiry into ball-tampering by the Australian squad in the third match of their Test series against South Africa.
Following a board meeting on March 28, 2018, Cricket Australia suspended Warner from all international and domestic cricket in Australia for a year, as well as from any leadership posts in the future.
If it was not for this controversy, David warner would have had a number of more records on his name by now.
2) Rohit Sharma:
Rohit Sharma is without a doubt one of the best batsmen the world has ever seen. He now plays for the Indian national cricket team as an opening batsman.
He also plays for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. From 2008 to 2010, he was a member of the Deccan Chargers. He also represents the Mumbai state squad in domestic cricket.
Establishing records in ODI cricket:
Rohit Sharma was in fantastic form throughout the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. And he has already scored more than 37 ODI hundreds. Aside from ODIs, he has also played test and T20 International cricket.
He now owns the record for most ODI double centuries with three. In addition, he works as a PETA advocate.
Sharma presently holds the global record for the greatest individual score (264) in a one-day international match and is the only player to have three one-day international double-centuries.
After scoring five hundred in the 2019 World Cup, he was named ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2019. Sharma was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2015 and the renowned Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2020.
Whenever it comes to the best opening batsman in international cricket, no one in the present international cricket scenario comes near to the hitman. He is undoubtedly the best ODI batsman at present.
1) Sachin Tendulkar:opening Batsmen in ODI
Sachin Tendulkar is a former Indian international cricketer who captained the Indian side. He is recognized as one of the best batsmen in cricket history.
Tendulkar was a member of the Indian side that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, his first victory in six World Cup appearances for India. He had previously been selected “Player of the Tournament” at the tournament’s 2003 edition.
Sachin Tendulkar scored 673 runs in 11 matches to help India reach the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. While Australia kept the championship, Tendulkar was named Man of the Tournament.
He proceeded to score strongly in one-day internationals that year, including two hundred in a tri-series against New Zealand and Australia.
Stats of ODI and Test cricket:
Tendulkar has the most Test runs (15,921 runs) and the most One-Day International runs (18,426 runs). He is the only player in all formats of international cricket to have scored more than 30,000 runs (Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals).
He is the 16th and first Indian player to reach 50,000 runs in all formats of local and international cricket (First-class, List A, and Twenty20).
On 5 October 2013, he accomplished this achievement while playing for his IPL side Mumbai Indians against Trinidad & Tobago in a Champions League Twenty20 match.
He also has the most century in both Tests (51) and ODIs (49), as well as in both Tests and ODIs combined (100). Tendulkar recorded his 100th international century on March 16, 2012. It happened against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2012 league matches in ODI format.
Tendulkar has scored over 1,000 runs in ODIs seven times in a calendar year, and his 1,894 runs in 1998 set the record for the most runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for One-Day Internationals. He is the first man in one-day cricket history to achieve a double-century.
These records are enough to prove why he is considered the ” God Of Cricket ” and the best opening batsman in ODI cricket history. When talking about stats, no one comes even close to
Sachin Tendulkar.
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