ICC World Cup 2019: 3 Batsmen who can become the highest run scorers 

The ICC World Cup is just a week away, and all the teams will be looking to get the composition of their teams right, ahead of cricket’s showpiece event.

It is the performance at cricket’s ‘Grandest Stage’ that adds aura to a player's career, and enhances his legend. Sir Viv Richards is fondly remembered for the century he blasted in the 1979 World Cup final against England that enabled his team to lift the trophy for the second time. Sachin Tendulkar’s ethereal 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 edition sits right at the top, towering over various gems that he conjured. Ricky Ponting’s blistering hundred in the 2003 World Cup final blew the Indians away, and enabled Australia to lift their third World Cup trophy, and every Indian cricket fan will remember the magical 91 not out that Dhoni conjured in the 2011 World Cup final.

Tendulkar holds the record for scoring the most runs in a single World Cup edition. The ‘Master Blaster’ scored a whopping 673 runs in the 2003 edition, and this is the highest aggregate till today. In this article, let us look at three batsmen who can become the leading run scorer of the 2019 edition of the World Cup.

#3 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle is still one of the most feared batsmen in world cricket today

He is almost 40 years old, but Chris Gayle is still one of the most destructive and feared batsmen in world cricket today. The Jamaican marauder has been in scintillating form with the bat and has plundered a staggering 424 runs in 2019 from just five ODI matches at an average of 106.00 and a strike rate of 134.18. He was also at his brutal best in the 12th edition of the IPL, scoring 490 runs at an average of 40.83, and a strike rate of 153.60.

Gayle’s form is really a cause of worry for the other teams because when he is at his best, he can literally demolish any bowling attack with ridiculous ease. And if he can continue his rich vein of form, not only will he propel West Indies to great starts at the top of the order, but he can also become the highest run scorer of the tournament.

#2 David Warner

Australia will be hoping that Warner carries on his IPL form into the World Cup

David Warner has come out all guns blazing since his return from the infamous ball-tampering scandal. The Australian batting dynamite was at his brutal best in the 2019 IPL, scoring a colossal 692 runs from just 12 innings at an average of 69.20, including a hundred and eight fifties. He won the Orange Cap, despite not playing all of Sunrisers Hyderabad's matches. Warner's tremendous hand-eye co-ordination, and his ability to rattle the opposition with his audacious stroke play makes him a potent weapon for Australia.

Warner will indeed be the danger man as far as the opposition is concerned, and Australia will be hoping that he carries on the brilliant form he showed in the IPL into the World Cup as well. He is definitely one of the contenders to score the most runs in the 2019 edition of the World Cup.

#1 Virat Kohli

Without a shadow of a doubt, Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman of the modern era.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman of the modern era. The Indian batting maestro has been plundering runs at will against every opposition in all conditions, and has emerged as the monarch of all that he has surveyed.

In his last 50 ODI innings, Kohli has scored 3151 runs, including 14 hundreds and 11 fifties. He is already the second-highest century scorer in ODI cricket, and is already considered by many as one of the greatest of all time.

Kohli will certainly be looking to weave his magic with the bat at cricket’s biggest event, and going by the form that he has displayed, he can very well emerge as the leading run scorer of the tournament. India's World Cup campaign will also depend a lot on Kohli's form.