5 Indian players who have played the most ODI matches

The ODI format has evolved over the years. Earlier, the format was played with 60 overs for both the teams but was reduced to 50 overs later. It introduced the white ball to the game of cricket and also changed the white jerseys to colorful and attractive ones. India and Australia have been the two most successful teams in this format with India holding the record of playing the most One-Day matches while Australia has won 5 World Cups played in the history so far.

There have been certain players who have established themselves as the legends of the game playing in the ODI format. 4,070 ODIs have been contested thus far and India has featured in 953 of them. Here are the top 5 Indian players who have played the most number of ODI matches -

#5 Sourav Ganguly - 311 ODI Matches

Sourav Ganguly

The Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly, made his ODI debut back in 1992 when he played for India against West Indies at Brisbane. He did not have a memorable debut as he lost his wicket after scoring just 3 runs batting at no. 6. But he improvised quickly and soon cemented his place in the team. The stalwart played 311 ODI matches in a 15 year long ODI career. He also played for the Asia XI during his career.

Ganguly aggregated 11,363 runs in his career where he batted in 300 innings. He formed one of the best opening pairs of India with Sachin Tendulkar. Nicknamed Dada, he scored 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries and also captained India in the ODI format. His highest individual score in an innings was 183. Ganguly made his last ODI appearance for India in 2007 in a match against Pakistan. Sadly, he could only score 5 runs in the game.

#4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni - 332 ODI Matches

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the only two Indian players to have won the ICC World Cup as a captain

Born in Ranchi, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his ODI debut in 2004 against Bangladesh at Chittagong. He had one of the worst debuts as he was run out on 0. However, MS did not disappoint the selectors after they gave him another chance in the next ODI series.

The best part of Dhoni's career was his captaincy period. He became the first Indian captain to win the ICC World Cup in 50 overs format and also lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Nicknamed Captain Cool, Dhoni also led India to a tri-series win in Australia.

He has played 332 ODIs and will continue playing for India at least until the ICC World Cup in 2019. MS Dhoni has an average of over 50 in the 50 overs format and is one of the best finishers of the game.

#3 Mohammad Azharuddin - 334 ODI Matches

M Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin made his ODI debut for India in 1985 against England at Bengaluru. He scored 47 runs off 37 balls in his debut innings and grabbed the attention of the cricket fans. In his 15 year long career, he played 334 ODI matches and batted in 308 innings. He aggregated 9,378 runs in his ODI career and hit 7 centuries and 58 half-centuries for India. Azharuddin's highest individual score was 153* and he averaged 36.92 during his career.

Azharuddin faced 12,669 balls in the 308 innings and had a strike rate of 74.02. He even rolled his arm to bowl some medium pace. He had 12 wickets to his name in the 24 innings he bowled and career-best figures of 3/19. He was one of the best fielders of his era and took 156 catches on the field.

#2 Rahul Dravid - 344 ODI Matches

Rahul Dravid was nicknamed the wall due to his solid defensive technique

Rahul Dravid played his first One Day International match on April 3 1996, when he donned the Indian jersey to face Sri Lanka at Singapore. Dravid was caught behind off Muralitharan after scoring just 9 runs. The Karnataka boy played 344 ODI matches in his 15-year long career. He made a comeback to the ODI squad in 2011 as almost half of the Indian squad was out with injuries.

Dravid could not lift the World Cup even once in his illustrious career but scored 10,889 runs for his team. Nicknamed the Wall, Dravid had the highest score of 153 in his ODI career. He was also made the captain of the Indian team but the Indian team crashed out of the 2007 World Cup in the group stage during his captaincy period.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 463 ODI Matches

India's biggest star

Sachin Tendulkar made his ODI debut for India in 1989 and served his nation for 23 years in the ODI format. He played his first match against Pakistan at Gujranwala on 18th December and was dismissed for a duck. But he went on to become the world's best batsman scoring the most number of runs in international cricket. He amassed 18,426 runs in the One-Day internationals after that duck against Pakistan.

Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to score a double century in the ODI format at the international level and it remained as his highest score. The Little Master slammed 49 hundreds and 96 fifties in the 452 innings he batted in.