Top 5 Batsmen With Most Runs In ODI Cricket: ODI cricket made its debut in 1971, with Australia meeting England at the MCG. So far, 29 teams, including the likes of Asia XI, ICC World XI, and Africa XI, have played men’s ODI.
There have been several legendary batsmen from the top cricketing countries who have graced the 50-over format and attained greatness in it.
Only a handful of batsmen—so far 15—have amassed more than 10,000 runs in ODI cricket, and only three of them crossed the 14,000-run mark to cement their name as among the absolute top-tier batsmen.
In this article, we will look at the top five highest run scorers in ODI cricket.
Top 5 Batsmen With Most Runs In ODI Cricket
5. Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya made his ODI cricket debut in 1989, starting as a left-arm spinner who could bat a bit and batted in the lower order for the first few years of his ODI career. He was promoted to the top order for the first time in 1993 and grabbed the opportunity with both hands with aggressive knocks as an opener.
Jayasuriya was one of the key men in Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup triumph as he regularly swatted bowling attacks as an opener.
He ended his ODI career with 13430 runs in 445 ODIs, scored at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 91 with 28 centuries and 68 fifties.
4. Ricky Ponting
One of the world’s all-time greatest batsmen and unarguably Australia’s greatest ODI batsman, Ricky Ponting is his country’s leading ODI run-scorer with 13704 runs, amassed across a career of 375 ODIs and 18 years during which he was part of the hat-trick of ODI World Cup wins, captaining in two of them, and two ICC Champions Trophy triumphs, skipper in both.
Ponting notched up 30 ODI centuries and 82 fifties in his illustrious career.
3. Virat Kohli
Hailed as arguably the biggest ODI match-winner by many and unarguably the greatest run-chaser in white-ball cricket, India’s Virat Kohli has been consistent throughout his ODI career.
In only 301 ODI matches and 289 innings in the format, Virat Kohli has aggregated 14180 runs at an average of 58, being the quickest of the three batsmen to reach the milestone of 14,000 ODI runs, and by a hefty distance.
Kohli has already hit the most number of ODI centuries, 51, to go with 74 fifties. Among the batsmen who have been part of at least 100 ODI wins, Kohli’s batting average of 74 is the best, and his tally of 43 centuries in India’s ODI wins is an incredible record, also the most of all time.
2. Kumar Sangakkara
Former Sri Lankan keeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara played 404 ODI cricket matches, in which the left-hander scored 14234 runs at an average of 41, notching up 25 centuries and 93 fifties.
Sangakkara retired from ODIs in 2015 after a stellar show in the 2015 World Cup.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs in ODI cricket. The former Indian opener and batting legend, Tendulkar plundered 18426 runs at an average of 44 across his mind-blowing ODI career that spanned from 1989 to 2012.
He hit 49 ODI centuries, a record only bettered by Virat Kohli, and also 96 fifties, which is still his record. Among wins in ODI cricket, Tendulkar averaged 56 and hit 33 tons, numbers once again only bettered by Kohli.
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