We are already heading into the ninth month of the calendar year but 2016 has been a lean one as far as One-Day Internationals is concerned with the focus largely being on the T20 format with the 2016 World T20 while the Test format has taken precedence since the culmination of the former. The fact that Australian pair Steven Smith and Matthew Wade have played the most ODIs this year – a low count of 15 – gives a clear indication of how the 50-over format has taken a backseat this year.
Even then, we have witnessed some great matches with the evenly contested tri-series in the Carribean which saw Australia edge out hosts West Indies and South Africa to clinch the trophy being the highlight. Not surprisingly, many Australians feature in the list of highest run-getters in ODIs in 2016 with skipper Steven Smith leading the pack with 620 runs at an average of 47.69.
In fact, two other Aussies features in the top 10 list with vice-captain David Warner and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh enjoying a good run with the bat this year. England, South Africa, and surprisingly, Sri Lanka, contribute two players each despite the latter's not so impressive record in ODIs this year.
Rohit Sharma is the only Indian in the top 10 list and that is an incredible achievement considering the fact that he has played only five matches. The Indian opener holds the highest average (110.25) amongst the batsmen with a minimum of 200 runs to their name this year, scoring 441 runs at a strike rate of above 100.
Skipper Virat Kohli is one who has been handicapped by the low number of matches that India has played this year with most of the prominent stars giving the Zimbabwe series a miss with many youngsters being given the chance to stake their claim for a place in the Indian team.
Here are the top 10 run-getters in ODIs in 2016 thus far:
| No | Batsman | Matches | Runs | Average | HS |
| 1 | Steven Smith (Aus) | 15 | 620 | 47.69 | 149 |
| 2 | Joe Root (Eng) | 10 | 522 | 65.25 | 125 |
| 3 | Alex Hales (Eng) | 9 | 520 | 74.28 | 133* |
| 4 | David Warner (Aus) | 9 | 511 | 63.87 | 122 |
| 5 | Quinton de Kock (SA) | 11 | 475 | 52.77 | 138* |
| 6 | Rohit Sharma (Ind) | 5 | 441 | 110.25 | 171* |
| 7 | Hashim Amla (SA) | 11 | 437 | 43.70 | 127 |
| 8 | Mitchell Marsh (Aus) | 14 | 428 | 53.50 | 102* |
| 9 | Angelo Mathews (SL) | 9 | 421 | 60.14 | 95 |
| 10 | Dinesh Chandimal (SL) | 9 | 420 | 60.00 | 100 |
NOTE: This was updated last on 20 August 2016.
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