Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Subramaniam Badrinath named his top five ODI cricketers of all time, and he shockingly left ace Indian batter Virat Kohli out of his list.
Badrinath went with Sachin Tendulkar at number one, Ricky Ponting at two, Michael Bevan at three, Kumar Sangakkara at four, and Wasim Akram at five. He ran through the picks in a video posted on his Instagram account.
Tendulkar’s case is the simplest in the sport: 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs at 44.83, with 49 hundreds and 96 fifties, and the first double century in the format’s history, an unbeaten 200 against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010. He finished his ODI career with a World Cup winner’s medal in 2011, at his sixth attempt.
Ponting sits fourth on the all-time run list with 13,704 in 375 matches, along with 30 hundreds and 82 fifties. He captained Australia to the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, and his 165 wins as ODI captain remain the most by anyone. His 140 not out in the 2003 final in Johannesburg is still the benchmark for a big-game innings in the format.
Bevan is the pick that looks unusual until the average is read: 6,912 runs at 53.58 in 232 ODIs, with 46 fifties against only six hundreds. Sangakkara made 14,234 runs in 404 ODIs at 41.98 with 25 hundreds and 93 fifties.
Akram took 502 wickets at 23.52 with an economy rate of 3.89 across 356 matches, and was central to Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win.
Why Virat Kohli has a case for the top five
Virat Kohli has more than 15,100 ODI runs at 58.78, the best average of anyone with 10,000 or more in the format, and 55 centuries, a record, plus 79 fifties. The chase record separates him from the rest.
Kohli has 8,741 runs in ODI run chases at 66.21, having gone past Tendulkar’s 8,720 in that same innings in Auckland, and he has done it across 300-plus innings at a strike rate of 94.36. He also has two ICC ODI titles with the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy triumphs.
Kohli is coming off an incredible 74 off 51 deliveries in the ODI series opener against New Zealand, helping India pull off a five-wicket win.
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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
