Every year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) picks the top players in different categories based on their recent performance. The player is rated out of thousand points and is scored majorly based on the runs he scores in the match. Today let us look at the best ODI batsman in the world as of 2021.
1. Virat Kohli – Born on 5th November 1988 in Delhi, Virat Kohli was just 19 years old when he made it to the International format in 2008.
He is the India skipper and is currently sitting at the number one position in the ICC ODI player ranking of 2021. He loves chasing a target than putting up a score to be chased by the other team. He made the fastest eleven thousand ODI runs in the world. He was awarded the ICC ODI Player of the Year award three times in 2012, 2017, and 2018.
2. Rohit Sharma – Born on 30th April 1987 in Nagpur, Rohit Gurunath Sharma is the Vice-Captain and opener for the Indian cricket team.
Rohit Sharma was 20 years old when he started his career in 2007 and currently ranks second on ten best ODI batsmen. At 264 runs, Rohit Sharma has the record of hitting the most runs in an ODI match in the world. He also recorded the most double centuries scored by any cricketer in the world in an ODI format, with three double centuries.
3. Babar Azam – Making his ODI debut at the budding age of 20 in 2015, Babar Azam is a top-order Pakistani batsman. He is the captain of the Pakistani cricket team in T20 and vice-captain in ODI format. In the ICC World Cup 2019, he was the highest run-scorer that took place in England. Azam became the first player to score five consecutive centuries in the same country for which he was awarded the PCB’s ODI Player in 2017. He is said to be a prodigy at just 25 years. He is the third player on the list of the top ten ODI batsmen in the world. In his debut ODI match, he scored fifty-four runs off just sixty deliveries. He is the only Pakistani player to have scored three centuries in T20 matches in a calendar year.
4. Ross Taylor – Born on 8th March 1984 in Lower Hutt, Wellington, Luteru Ross Poutao Taylor is a batsman from New Zealand. He plays in the middle order and has served as the New Zealand cricket team captain in the past. He ranks fourth on the list of ten best ODI batsmen in the world. Taylor was 22 years when he made his ODI debut in 2006 but only managed to score fifteen runs. However, in his third ODI match, he scored 128* against Sri Lanka. He is among the few players in the world to have achieved a double century in the Test format. He has played in four ICC World Cups in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. Ross Taylor is the first New Zealand cricketer to have centuries against all nations who play Test games in the ODI format. He is the fourth player in the game’s history who has scored a century on his birthday.
5. Aaron Finch – Born on 17th November 1986 in Colac, Victoria, Australia, Aaron James Finch is an Australian batsman on the top ten ODI Batsmen list. He is the opening batsman for the Australian cricket team. At the age of 27, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2013, where he could only score sixteen runs. He holds the highest individual score of 172 in T20I, which is also the highest run scored by any captain and opener. Recently, against India, he and David Warner set a record highest ever opening partnership with 285 runs.
6. Francois du Plessis – Born on 13th July 1984 in Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa, Francois du Plessis is a middle-order South African cricket player. In 2011, he made his ODI debut, where he scored sixty runs against India and was not out. On the list of top ten batsmen in the world, he currently ranks sixth. The former captain of South Africa has played three ICC World Cups in 2011, 2015, and 2019. Francois du Plessis was also named the South African Player of the Year in 2019. Out of the thirty-nine games he has captained, Plessis has driven New Zealand to victory in 28 of them.
7. David Andrew Warner – Born on the 27th October 1986 in Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, David Andrew Warner is an Australian cricketer who currently ranks seventh on the top ten ODI batsmen worldwide. Opening batsman for the Australian Cricket team, Warner has also served as the team’s captain. Warner was just 20 years old when he debuted in the 2009 ODI against South Africa, where he only scored five runs. However, since 1877, is the first Australian batsman to have not played any First-Class match. In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, he scored 178 (highest runs in his career) against Afghanistan, which helped Australia reach the highest tally in any World Cup ever at 417/6.
8. Kane Williamson – Born on 8th August 1990 in Tauranga, New Zealand, Kane Williamson is a top-order batsman from New Zealand on the list and ranks eighth on the top ten ODI batsmen list worldwide. He is the captain of the New Zealand Cricket Team in all formats. In 2010, he debuted in the ODI format at the age of 20 years.
Williamson holds the record of being the fastest New Zealand player to score three thousand runs with just seventy-eight innings and fifth fastest globally. In 2019, he also helped his team reach the ICC World Cup finals, where they lost to England after a nail-biting match.
9. Quinton de Kock – Born on 17th December 1992 in Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa, Quinton de Kock is a South African cricketer. He ranks ninth on the list of best ODI batsmen in the world. He is the team’s wicket-keeper. At 20, Quinton de Kock made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 2013, where he scored eighteen runs. In November of the same year, he scored a century against Pakistan. He outshined in December of the same year when he scored three consecutive centuries against India.
Quinton de Kock scored 178 runs in just 113 balls against Australia in 2016. He also scored the fastest twelve ODI centuries in just seventy-four ODIs, a feat that is yet to be broken.
10. Joe Root – Born on 30th December 1990 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, Joe Root is an English Cricketer who plays in the team’s middle order and is currently the Test format captain.
At 22, Joe Root made his ODI debut against India in 2013, where he did not get to bat, but he played a vital role in bowling. Even though he could not take any wicket, he only gave fifty-one runs in nine overs with an economy of 5.67. He currently ranks tenth on the ten best ODI Batsmen in the world. Joe Root was also a member of the England team that won its first ICC Cricket World Cup title. In 2017, when he became the captain of England’s Test team, he scored a century in the very first game and became the sixth English player to achieve this feat.