Top 5 openers in ODIs going into the Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy in England is nearing and teams will look to strategise and find the perfect balance in their squads. Most teams may still be undecided about their final 15 for the tournament and experimentation is still in process in the One Day squads.

A damp June in England will welcome teams and the ball is expected to do quite a bit unlike the 2013 edition, when the pitches had a distinct sub-continental feel. This means one prime area of focus will be openers at the top of the batting order.

Extra Cover: Top 5 finishers going into the Champions Trophy

As it stands, One-Day Internationals are dominated by opening batsmen who make scores bordering the 200-mark courtesy flat tracks and short boundaries. That is not to say these batsmen fair well only in such conditions. There are quite a few terrific opening batsmen in world cricket today.

Here, we take a look at five of the best ODI openers going into the major tournament in England.

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#5 Hashim Amla

The South African batsman is one of the best openers in the world today, and together with another dynamic partner, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla has been in brilliant touch in ODI cricket, lately.

Although his Test form wavered in 2016, he was at the top of his game in the ODIs. Amla has 772 runs since 2016 in ODIs at an average of 42.88 with three hundreds, the highest of which came in Centurion last week against the Sri Lankans.

Amla also smashed another hundred against England in Centurion in early 2016 and also made a hundred against the West Indies in Basseterre in the tri-series. His form in recent weeks will give the Proteas a huge boost going into yet another major tournament.

#4 Jason Roy

Roy’s unorthodox batting style brings him runs at a quick pace

The eye-catching England opener, Jason Roy, has been making runs at will and at a terrifying strike rate. He has more often than not set a brilliant platform for the likes of Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to capitalise on.

Roy had a brilliant series in India as well smashing half-centuries in each of the three ODIs. He has two hundreds and five half-centuries since 2016 at an average of 48.16 and strike rate of 109.88.

With Alex Hales set to return, the Surrey batsman has a stable opening partner and should flourish in home conditions. His ability to clear the inner circle in the powerplay overs will be crucial for England’s hopes of getting off to a good start.

#3 Rohit Sharma

On his day, Rohit Sharma can change games in no time

The Indian opener has been out injured for a few months but is expected to be fit and firing by the time the Champions Trophy starts in June. The current record holder for the highest individual score in ODIs, a devastating innings of 264 runs, Rohit's return is eagerly awaited by Indians suffering from the poor form of Shikhar Dhawan.

Sharma has played just 10 ODIs since 2016 but has an average of 60+ in these games with a highest score of 171 against the Australians in Perth in January 2016. His penchant for big scores makes him one of the best openers in World Cricket today.

His last ODI innings came in Vishakapatnam against New Zealand where he made a 70. With Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul struggling for consistency, the Mumbai batsman will be expected to give India the perfect start in England. Although the swinging overcast conditions do not suit his style of batting, in ODIs the 'Hitman' can single-handedly change a game and could silence quite a few critics.

#2 Quinton de Kock

de Kock forms a formidable opening batting partnership along with Hashim Amla

The South African wicket-keeper batsman has one of the best ODI records since 2016. He is the third highest run-scorer in the world since 2016 with 1080 runs in 22 matches, including 4 hundreds and a highest of 178 against Australia.

The left-handed opener is a terrific striker of the cricket ball despite his short stature. He times the ball impeccably and has the best conversion rate in ODIs in terms of converting 50s to 100s.

With Hashim Amla guiding from the other end, de Kock is a bowler's nightmare. He plays pace and spin with equal ease and more often than not, goes at more than run a ball, as is evident from his strike rate of 108.54.

#1 David Warner

Warner is, undoubtedly, the best opening batsman currently in the game

The diminutive but powerful David Warner has been a run machine for Australia in all formats. But it is in the ODIs that he revelled way above the rest with a mind-blowing nine hundreds since 2016.

He is a great striker of the ball and is particularly good at intimidating bowlers with his flat batted shots. Warner has made runs in all conditions and was an unstoppable force in ODIs in the last few months.

A strike rate of 106.94 and 29 sixes since 2016 makes him one of the most dangerous opening batsmen. He is also the highest run-scorer in the format since 2016 with 1755 runs in 28 games at an average of 65.00.