MS Dhoni's 300th ODI: 5 Indian players who are part of the 300-club

In a series aimed at experimenting with India’s bench strength in 2004, a long-haired, unassuming wicket-keeper, an obscure name then, joined India's game of ‘musical chairs’. When he walked back with a nought next to his name on debut, few would have predicted him to last for over a decade in international cricket. 13 years later, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is on the cusp of completing 300 ODIs, a club that contains some of the best Indian players the format has seen.

Before him, five Indians have managed to achieve the distinction:

#5 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj joined the 300-ODI club in the recent Champions Trophy

Right from the time he hammered a red-hot Australian attack in his debut international innings, Yuvraj Singh exuded the confidence of a man ready take on the world. When in full flow, runs flew of his bat with a fluency that couldn’t be matched, although his ill-consistency threatened to pull him down whenever he started to reach the verge of greatness.

Yuvraj Singh’s ODI career, spread between two Champions Trophy editions (2000 and 2017) saw tremendous ups and downs, especially in 2011, when the joy of a World Cup win was diffused by news of him contracting lung cancer.

In 304 ODIs, Yuvraj scored 8701 runs, averaging a touch over 36, with 14 hundreds and 52 fifties. More than the numbers, however, was the impact he managed to create in crunch situations: the World T20 in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup are a testimony to him being a big-match player.

At 35, the chances of holding onto a permanent spot till the 2019 World Cup seem bleak, but given the fighter that ‘Yuvi’ is, you can never say never.

#4 Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly played a total of 311 ODIs from 1992 to 2007

Ganguly’s ODI career was forced into a four-year sabbatical after an ungainly debut in 1992 threatened to throw him off the rails. A stupendous Test debut kick-started a purple patch in ODIs, with big knocks, including a 183 in the 1999 World Cup, paved the way for captaincy in both formats. His most prolific years came in 1999 and 2000, where he averaged 46.50 and 56.39 in successive calendar years.

2005 was painstakingly dry for the southpaw, whose off-side play was a sight for gods. Coinciding with his tiff with coach Greg Chappell, the year saw him score runs at an average of 17.41 in 13 ODIs.

His remarkable Test comeback ensured that he got on to the bus for the 2007 World Cup, scoring bucketful of runs that year, but an ODI against Pakistan that November, where he opened one last time with Sachin Tendulkar, was the last time he represented India in coloured clothing.

#3 Mohammad Azharuddin

Azharuddin captained India in three World Cups

The blot of alleged match-fixing notwithstanding, Mohammad Azharuddin, the first cricketer to play 300 ODIs, was a permanent fixture in the Indian line-up of the 1990s. Captaining the side for three World Cups (1992, 1996 and 1999), Azharuddin played a total of 334 ODIs, scoring 9378 runs at an average of 36.92 with 7 hundreds and 58 fifties.

His most prolific years were in 1990 and 1993, when he scored runs at an average of 65 and 59. In the last two years of his international career, his numbers receded, averaging below 30 in both the calendar years.

His silken legside strokeplay was a sight to behold, and his sharp close-in catching was an added bonus, but sadly, Azharuddin ended his career with a trail of allegations behind him

#2 Rahul Dravid

Once branded a 'misfit', Dravid evolved to become an integral part of the ODI team

When he first started off for India, Dravid was identified as a Test match specialist who seemed to be a misfit in the ODI team. 15 years after his debut, he ended as India’s third highest run-getter in the format, scoring more than 10,000 runs by reinventing his batting to match the format.

1999 turned out to be a watershed year for Dravid, when he ended as the World Cup’s highest run-getter. He became an indispensable part of the side when he was coaxed into donning the wicket-keeper gloves, helping lend balance to the India side during the 2002 Champions Trophy and the World Cup that followed.

From 2002 to 2006, he played the role of the sheet anchor with aplomb, averaging more than at least 35 every calendar year, and captained in the lead-up to their dismal 2007 World Cup campaign.

After being left out in wilderness in 2008, Dravid was recalled twice, in 2009 and 2011, to bolster the Indian middle-order. He finally hung his boots in 2011, after scoring a fifty against England at Cardiff.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar, who scored his first ODI century in his 79th match, compiled 49 tons.

The undisputed champion of the 50-over format, Sachin’s ODI career extended from 1989 until 2012, where he amassed a seemingly unsurpassable figure of 18,426 ODI runs, 49 hundreds and 96 fifties included.

Starting off as a middle-order batsman, Tendulkar was pushed to the opening slot in 1994, and responded with a blazing 82 off 49 balls, never looking back from that point onwards.

A batsman with impeccable technique and unmatchable temperament, Tendulkar’s strength lied in assessing the bowler completely and pacing his innings accordingly. Obstacles did arise: from a toe injury to tennis elbow, Sachin endured a lot, but never looked unconvincing in the India blue.

He encountered a second wind in his career in 2009, slamming the first ever double century to rise head and shoulders over other greats of the format. His last ODI (463rd), came against Pakistan in 2012.