All Time Greatest All Rounders in One Day Internationals

6) Sanath Jayasuriya

The career which started in 1989 wasn't believed to have belonged to the man Sanath Jayasuriya went on to become. In the early years, he was considered a 'bits and pieces' cricketer', at most a bowler who could bat a bit. Who would have thought then about the shots he hammered through point and cover and scythes over the leg side as he slashed his way through some of the great bowling attacks.

He scored runs equally briskly in every form of the game and got noticed as the Lankan-dynamo in World Cup'1996. His then opening partnership with Romesh Kaluwitharana not only steered Sri Lanka to victory but also drastically transformed the role of openers in ODIs.

Jayasuriya was perhaps one of the most destructive opening batsmen to have played the game and an even absolute delight to watch as he thrashed his way through the bowlers during the initial overs of fielding restrictions. He scored 13,430 runs for Sri Lanka and averaged 32.36, but the revolutionizing strike rate of 91.20 is proof that he was a potential danger to the opposition when he got going.

He is number 4 on the list of most runs in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting. He also scored 28 centuries and as many as 68 half-centuries in his career. He is number three on the list of maximum sixes in ODIs with 270 after Chris Gayle (275) and Shahid Afridi (351).

Jayasuriya was also known for his shrewd bowling and agility as a fielder. His left-arm finger spin picked 323 wickets in 445 games at an average of 36.75 including 4 five-wicket hauls. The all-rounder Jayasuriya used to bowl his full quota of fast left-arm off-spin and is the only player in the history of ODI cricket to have achieved the double of 13,000 runs and 300 wickets.