5 greatest batsmen produced by India in ODI cricket

India has produced several great batsmen in ODI cricket. These men have taken Indian cricket to great heights with their resplendent deeds with the bat.

In this article, let us look at the five greatest Indian batsmen in ODI cricket.

#5 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag will go down as the most destructive batsman produced by India in ODI cricket. His approach to batting was simple-If the ball was meant to be hit, then Sehwag would send it crashing to the boundary.

Sehwag’s tremendous hand-eye coordination coupled with immense self-belief made him an absolute nightmare for the bowlers.

Sehwag, along with the iconic Tendulkar tamed many great bowling attacks at the top of the order. The audacious stroke play of Sehwag coupled with the artistry of Tendulkar made them one of the most dreaded opening pairs in the history of ODI cricket.

In the 251 matches that he played for India, Sehwag scored 8273 runs including 15 hundreds and 38 fifties at an ethereal strike rate of 104.33

RECORD: Matches:251 Innings:245 Runs:8273 100’s:15 50’s:38 Avg:35.05 S/R:104.33

#4 Sourav Ganguly

Seeing Sourav Ganguly at his best, was like seeing a stream in full flow

Rahul Dravid very famously said “On the off side, first there is God, then there is Sourav Ganguly. Seeing Ganguly at his best was like seeing a stream in full flow.

His cover drive through the off-side was as smooth as silk, and his towering sixes over mid-wicket was an absolute treat to watch.

Ganguly is also the second highest run-scorer for India with 11,363 runs to his name.

In the 311 ODIs that he played, he hit 22 hundreds and 72 fifties at an average of 41.02.

RECORD: Matches:311 Innings:300 Runs:11363 100’s:22 50’s:72 Avg:41.02 S/R:73.70

#3 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

There are very few batsmen in world cricket who can hit a cricket ball as hard as Dhoni does

There are very few batsmen in world cricket who can hit a cricket ball as hard as MS Dhoni does. His iconic helicopter shot, his ferocious cuts through the off side and his ability to hit towering sixes at will made him one of the biggest match-winners for India.

Dhoni will also go down as the greatest finisher ODI cricket has ever seen. His 91* against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup Final will be etched in the minds of each and every Indian cricket fan.

In the 332 matches that he played for India, Dhoni scored 10,173 runs including 10 hundreds and 67 fifties at an outstanding average of 50.11.

RECORD: Matches:332 Innings:281 Runs:10173 100’s:10 50’s:67 Avg:50.11 S/R:87.90

#2 Virat Kohli

Kohli's passion, his hunger to score runs, and his zeal to continuously improve makes him the best batsman of modern day cricket

He is the only man who has any realistic chance of going past most of Tendulkar’s big-ticket records in ODI cricket.

The batting dynamite has been plundering runs at will against every opposition in all conditions.

Kohli’s passion, his hunger for runs and his zeal to continuously improve makes him the best batsman of modern day cricket.

Kohli is the fastest batsman in the world to score 10,000 ODI runs, reaching the landmark in just 205 innings. He is also second in the list of highest century-makers in ODI cricket with 38 hundreds to his name.

In the 216 matches that he has played for India, Kohli has scored an astounding 10,232 runs at a surreal average of 59.84.

RECORD: Matches:216 Innings:208 Runs:10232 100’s:38 50’s:48 Avg:59.84 S/R:92.88

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is the most complete batsman in the history of ODI cricket

He is a man whose name is almost synonymous with the game of cricket itself. Hailed as ‘The God of Cricket’, Tendulkar holds just about every single batting record in the game, including that for the most runs, most hundreds, most fifties, the most man of the match awards, to name a few.

Tendulkar’s ability to play the straight drive with minimum fuss made your jaw drop, his exquisite cover drive through the off side made you crave for more, his ability to whip the ball past mid-wicket with ease made bowlers gape at him, his ability to play the upper cut with the precision of a surgeon made opposition captains scratch their heads in utter amazement.

Tendulkar is the most complete batsman in the history of ODI cricket.

In a staggering 463 matches, the diminutive master batsman scored a mind-boggling 18426 runs, including 49 hundreds and 96 fifties, at an average of 44.83

RECORD: Matches:463 Innings:452 Runs:18426 100’s:49 50’s:96 Avg:44.83 S/R:86.24