3 batsmen who started their ODI career in the middle order but were more successful at the top of the order

ODI Cricket is the most popular and played format in the International arena of the game. 2 of the biggest cricketing events in the world, the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Champions Trophy are played in the ODI format. India and England seem like the best teams in this format. They have a few of the best batsmen in the world including the likes of Virat Kohli and Joe Root.

Incidentally two of the batsmen on this list are from England and India. Not every batsman gets to bat at his favorite position, especially when he is an inexperienced player and there are better options for that position. They need to grind it out before getting to bat at their favorite position. Here we look at 3 players who had to play in the middle order before shifting to the top where, they were more successful.

Rohit Sharma

The Hit-man is one of the best batsmen in the world. He is the only player to have scored 3 double hundreds in the ODI format. His highest score of 264 is unimaginable and such a score is hard to get even in a Test match. He started his ODI career about 11 years ago and played in the middle order for 5 years with little success. The substantial scores that he got came against weak oppositions.

He has scored 6594 runs in 174 innings throughout his career at an average of 44.55 and a strike rate of 86.96. He has scored 4747 runs in 104 innings at a strike rate of 90 and an average of 50.5 at the top of the order (positions 1,2 and 3). Compared to that he has scored 1847 runs in 70 innings at a paltry strike rate of 79 and averaged 34.2 while batting in the middle order.

There is a difference of 16.3 between both the averages and 11 in the strike rates.

Jonathan Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow

He has been a revelation for England at the top of the order over the past year. Bairstow was England's backup batsman but a slump in form for Jason Roy during the Champions Trophy forced England to rope in Bairstow. The move worked as he scored 43 against Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. He was a middle order batsman but England made him open and it has worked wonders as he has been a game changer for them with 5 centuries, over the last year or so.

He has scored 1584 runs in 40 innings at an average of 49.5 and a strike rate of 100.12. He has been phenomenal at the top of the order having scored 993 runs in 19 innings at a breathtaking average of 62.06 and a strike rate of 107. Compared to that he has scored 591 runs in 21 innings at a strike rate of 90.22 and had an average of 62.06 while batting in the middle order.

There is a difference of 25.13 between both the averages and 16.78 in the strike rates.

Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis

He has been South Africa's rock in the ODI format. He has the ability to go bonkers from ball one or grind it out before taking the attack to the opposition. The South African skipper has been instrumental for them ever since grabbing hold of the 1 down slot. He is one of the best in the world and has proved that time and again. He had a poor start to his career and had hardly anything of note in his first 45-50 matches.

He has batted 112 times and has scored 4379 runs at an average of 44.68 and with a strike rate of 88.3. He has an excellent average of 53 at the top with a strike rate of 87.66. He has scored 3304 runs in 69 innings at the top. In stark contrast, he could only manage 1075 runs in 43 innings at an average of 29.86 and a strike rate of 90.33 while batting in the middle order.

There is a difference of 23.14 between both the averages.