6 current cricketers who boast a 50+ ODI batting average

Dhoni will be looking to improve his batting as his poor form continues to hurt India's middle-order
Dhoni will be looking to improve his batting as his poor form continues to hurt India's middle-order

An average of 40 was considered a benchmark for good batsmen till 2000s. 90% of the batsmen fell in the bandwagon of 20-40 average runs per match. However, there were cricketers who challenged themselves to come out of the ordinary and became the best.

Cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting maintained an average in the range of 40 to 45 runs per match. There was one exceptional player, Michael Bevan, who maintained 50+ average even during those days.

The change in cricketing rules in the past two decades have shifted the game predominantly in the favour of batsmen. The average runs per match have increased; the average hundreds per match have increased too.

Now, we have a set of cricketers who have crossed the magical mark of 50 runs per match. Here is the list of six current cricketers who have the average of more than 50 runs per match in ODI cricket.

Criteria: The batsman should have played at least 25 ODIs in his career.

#6 MS Dhoni - India - Average - 50.1

Since 2008, MS Dhoni's average has never gone below 50. Dhoni is currently averaging 50.11 from 281 innings he has played so far. The main reason for his extraordinary batting average despite batting predominantly at No. 6 is in his not-out percentage. Dhoni boasts a not-out percentage of more than 25% (i.e. 78 not out from his 281 innings).

The former Indian captain has been in bad form in 2018 and is at the risk of having his average nose-dive into 40s if he doesn't improve his performance in the upcoming ODI series against Australia and New Zealand.

Dhoni is averaging a dismal 25 from his 20 matches this year. He will be looking for a fresh 2019 where India will play 13 ODIs before flying to England for all the important World Cup.

#5 Joe Root - England - Average - 51.52

Joe Root is currently standing 4th in the ICC ODI batsman ranking
Joe Root is currently standing 4th in the ICC ODI batsman ranking

Joe Root, who was primarily considered as a Test Batsman, has started dominating 50-over Cricket since 2016. He was averaging in the 40s till the 2015 World Cup.

After England's debacle in the World Cup, the English board changed their strategy and brought in a lot of aggressive batsmen into the playing eleven. Joe Root acted as a fulcrum of England's aggressive batting lineup by playing a stable knock in most games. Now, they have become one of the best ODI teams in the world.

He averages 61.23, 70.21 and 59.13 in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. England will be banking on Joe Root's form to target their maiden ODI World Cup title next year.

Root's unbeaten twin hundreds against India in summer is the highlight of his 2018 ODI performance.

#4 Babar Azam - Pakistan- Average - 51.52

Babar Azam is currently the No.5 ODI batsman in the word
Babar Azam is currently the No.5 ODI batsman in the word

Babar Azam is touted as the 'Virat Kohli' of Pakistan Cricket and is living up to the expectation of Pakistan fans. He is one of the consistent performers for Pakistan in the past few years. He played a major role in Pakistan winning the Champions Trophy title in 2017.

Babar Azam boasts a career average of 51.52 from his 54 games. He has scored 2267 runs which include eight centuries. The Pakistan cricketer is having an ordinary 2018 as he is scoring runs only at an average of 36.36 this year.

Babar needs just a couple of big innings to restore his batting form as the rising-star is destined to do big things in this beautiful game.

Babar Azam is currently ranking 5th in the ICC ODI ranking. He also the No.1 T20 batsman in the world.

#3 Ambati Rayudu - India - Average - 51.68

Rayudu's form is extremely important for Indian Cricket Team to solidify their middle-order
Rayudu's form is extremely important for Indian Cricket Team to solidify their middle-order

Ambati Rayudu was never given a consistent run in the middle-order for India. Despite impressing everyone during his multiple short stints, Rayudu was hardly considered as a serious candidate to solve India's middle-order woes. However, the Hyderabad batsman has proved everyone wrong by cementing his place in the Indian team for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup.

Rayudu has played 54 games for India scoring 1447 at an average of 51.68. His start-stop career spanned across six years; he hasn't played more than 20 games on a calendar year.

Despite all the hurdles in the past, Rayudu made use of his opportunity in 2018 scoring 392 runs at an average of 56 with three fifties and one century.

Rayudu will be the linchpin of India's middle-order in the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

#2 Fakhar Zaman - Pakistan - Average 57.95

Fakhar Zaman tormented India bowling line-up with his scintillating century in the Champions Trophy final
Fakhar Zaman tormented India bowling line-up with his scintillating century in the Champions Trophy final

Fakhar Zaman made his debut for Pakistan last year against South Africa at Edgbaston. Since then, he has been prolific for Pakistan cricket team in the ODIs. He boasts a career average of 57.95 from his 26 matches. Since he opens the batting, he doesn't have the leverage of having many not-outs to boosts his batting average.

The left-handed opener came to spotlight in the Champions Trophy finals against their arch-rivals India. He scored a match-winning 124 runs from 106 balls helping Pakistan to clinch the 2nd biggest ODI trophy in the game.

Zaman, who averaged 44.44 in 2017, improved his performance drastically scoring 1275 runs in 2018. He is currently having an average of 67.31 in 2018 and will definitely feature in the best ODI team of this year.

#1 Virat Kohli - India - Average 59.84

Virat's ability to score consistent match-winning hundreds is nothing short of a miracle
Virat's ability to score consistent match-winning hundreds is nothing short of a miracle

There are no prizes for guessing this player. It's Virat Kohli, who has the highest average among all the active cricketers. He is second only to Ryan ten Doeschate in the all-time highest average list.

He played 216 ODI games since he made his debut in 2008. He has amassed 10,232 runs with an astonishing average of 59.84. His runs included 38 centuries which makes him the 2nd leading centurion next to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

In 2018, the Indian captain has played 14 ODIs scoring 1202 runs at an unassailable average of 133.56 with six hundred. He also scored his runs at a strike-rate of 102.56. Virat maintained a consistent average of above 50 since 2012 with the exception of just one year. In 2015, he struggled for form scoring runs at an average of 36.65.

Virat can break soon into the 60s average bracket if he maintains his consistent run in ODIs.

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Edited by Aadya Sharma