Probable heirs to Sachin Tendulkar's throne

3. Hashim Amla

Amla is another batsman who started his career too late to have the head start that is required to match Sachin’s numbers. Even after Hashim Amla started his career, he took a little time to settle into his own shoes. His averages tell a story, and are testament to his presence on this list.

The middle-order batsman averages 55.00 in 73 ODIs with 11 hundreds. In the longer version of the game, he averages just over 52.00, with almost 5800 runs and 19 hundreds. He is the politest man that you are likely to meet on the cricket field – a quality that he shares with Tendulkar – and is on the same page as Sachin in terms of the philosophy of batting. He plays orthodox cricketing shots relying on timing, placement, neat footwork, and does not believe is excessive innovation.

His ability to perform in both formats of the game is yet another quality that is rare. Unfortunately, age is not on his side and South Africa do not play a whole lot of cricket in a calendar year, which means he will definitely fall short in terms of numbers.