3 openers with most international runs in a calendar year

#2 Sanath Jayasuriya – 2387 runs in 1997

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya was in prime form during the late 1990s. He was the backbone for his side and helped Sri Lanka to single-handedly win matches with his attacking stroke-play as an opener. Jayasuriya had a tremendous impact in the ODIs and his ability to bat out oppositions in those days was quite remarkable.

His batting was largely based around taking more risks and inducing fear in the mind of the bowlers. He was one of the most explosive openers during his time and led the charge at the onset.

In 1997, the southpaw was at the peak of his powers as he scored a total of 2387 runs in the entire calendar year. He was miles ahead of most of the contemporary openers so much so that the next best opener was Indian great Sourav Ganguly, who scored nearly 1000 runs less than Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya's record for most runs by an opener stood for 22-long years before Rohit Sharma surpassed it this year.