ICC World Cup 2019: 5 players who could hit a double hundred

Batsmen scoring double hundred in a One Day International was unheard of until 2010. Sachin Tendulkar broke the barrier in 2010 with a beautiful 200* against South Africa in Gwalior. But his record did not stay long.

Virender Sehwag broke it in 2011 with a stunning 219 against West Indies in Indore and the phenomenon continued thereafter. Five players (Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, and Martin Guptill) have scored double hundreds in ODI cricket.

Also, T20 cricket has changed the way One Day Internationals and Test matches are played these days. Modern-day batsmen play aggressively and want to score runs quickly, irrespective of the format.

The 2019 Cricket World Cup will be staged in England and Wales next June and batsmen will relish the batting-friendly conditions. Expect quite a few high scoring games in the tournament.

On that note, let’s take a look at the 5 players who could hit a double hundred in the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and Wales next June.

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#5 Jonny Bairstow

Bairstow is the most in-form opener in world cricket at the moment

The English batsman is arguably the most in-form opener in One Day Internationals at the moment. Opening the batting for England in ODIs, the 28-year-old is the highest run-getter this calendar year.

In 14 ODI games this year, Jonny Bairstow has scored 773 runs at an average of 55.21 and a strike rate of 121.54. He has hit four hundreds and one fifty in 2018. His last seven ODI scores are 138, 104, 105, 28, 42, and 139. Bairstow possesses a wide array of shots and his hitting ability is phenomenal.

In 19 games since 2017, he has struck 6 hundreds and got out on a single digit score only on two occasions. The 2019 ICC World Cup will be played in England and Wales, which will definitely help his batting. Expect him to make it to the elite list.

#4 Evin Lewis

Lewis has the potential to take the 2019 World Cup by storm

The 26-year-old hard-hitting batsman from Trinidad is touted to be the future of Caribbean cricket. Evin Lewis has played some exceptional knocks for West Indies in the past and his 176* against England at the Oval was simply spectacular.

Lewis opens the batting for West Indies in One Day Internationals and has been a consistent performer for the team in recent months. His 125* against India in a T20I game at Kingston was scintillating.

Lewis has played 32 ODIs for West Indies and scored almost 1000 runs. Lewis’s strength has been his ability to clear boundaries at will. He has struck 67 sixes in his 47 limited-overs games. He also has the patience to play long innings and definitely a player to watch out for next summer.

#3 Martin Guptill

Guptill scored a massive 237* in the 2015 World Cup

This man knows what it takes to score a double hundred in quick time. Martin Guptill is an exceptional opening batsman who has a penchant for big scores in ODIs. The Kiwi batsman has scored 180 or more on three occasions already in One Day Internationals.

Martin Guptill has played 159 ODI games and scored almost 6000 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 86.38. The 31-year-old struck a brilliant 237* off 163 balls against West Indies at Wellington on March 2015 in a World Cup game, which is the second highest individual score in international limited-overs cricket.

Martin Guptill will definitely be a part of the New Zealand squad for the 2019 World Cup in England next summer and has every chance to score the second ODI double hundred of his career.

#2 Jason Roy

Roy could make England dangerous

The 27-year-old is one of the most destructive opening batsmen in world cricket at the moment. He has played 61 One Day Internationals for England and scored 2242 runs at an amazing strike rate of 103.89.

Jason Roy has been a permanent fixture in the England ODI set up and will most likely open the batting with Jonny Bairstow in the 2019 World Cup. Roy is a quick run-getter who can play shots right from ball one.

He has already played some phenomenal innings in ODI cricket. His 180 against Australia at Melbourne and 162 against Sri Lanka at the Oval are some of his best knocks so far. He possesses great hitting potential and at the same time, has the ability to occupy the crease. Playing at home will make him an even bigger threat to the opponents.

#1 Rohit Sharma

Can he make it four?

No surprise here. Rohit Sharma has mastered the art of scoring double hundreds in One Day Internationals. He knows how to pace his innings and has done it expertly in the past. The 31-year-old batsman from Mumbai has played 180 ODI games for India and scored 6594 runs at an average of 44.55 and a strike rate of 86.96.

Rohit Sharma is the only player in the world to score three double hundreds in ODI cricket. In 2013, he scored 209 runs against Australia at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. He scored his second double hundred (264) against Sri Lanka in 2014, which is the highest individual score in ODI cricket right now.

His third double hundred (208*) came recently against Sri Lanka in Mohali. Batting friendly conditions in England will assist his strike play and he has every chance to increase his tally of double hundreds to four.