3 Indian batsmen who average more than 50 in ODIs

ODI cricket is a form of cricket where a batsman has to strike a balance between attack and defence. As a batsman you cannot go slam-bang from the word go, also, you cannot keep defending and wait for the loose ball as you do in Test cricket. Batsman has to play in phases in ODIs, in the initial overs when the field is up batsman needs to take the aerial root to score boundaries and maximise the scoring rate while in the middle overs batsman needs to milk the bowlers for singles.

During the death overs, a batsman needs to go for the all-out attack, he should either hit out or get out. To master the art of one-day cricket batting one needs to possess all the above-mentioned skills that are not easy.

India has produced many great ODI batsmen over the years, Indian batsmen hold many records to their name in ODI cricket. India has been a great ODI side over the years with two World Cup titles to its name.

An important metric to measure the greatness of a batsman in ODI cricket is his average. Many Indian batsmen have an average of above 40 in ODIs, but, there are only three Indian batsmen who have maintained an average of above 50, so far, in their careers. Let's take a look at these three Indian players.

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1. Virat Kohli (58.20)

Kohli is already one of the greatest

If you have a batting average of 58.20 even after playing 211 ODI matches, then you are bound to be a great player and on top of that, if you have a strike rate of 92.12 while making those runs, then you are definitely one of the greatest of all time. Very few people can doubt that Virat Kohli is already one of the greatest of all time.

Kohli has scored 9779 runs with an astonishing 35 centuries and 48 fifties. Kohli is just 29 years old, one can only imagine how many centuries he will end up with.

2. MS Dhoni (50.90)

Dhoni is a master chaser

One of the greatest finishers of all-time, MS Dhoni is a master chaser. In spite of being a wicket-keeper if you boast-off an average of 50.90 that too with a strike rate of 88.11, then it speaks volumes about your quality as a cricketer.

Dhoni has scored 10079 runs from 324 matches with 10 centuries and 67 half-centuries. Dhoni is an exceptional keeper to spinners with many great stumpings to his name and has the distinction of winning a World Cup as a captain.

3. Ambati Rayudu (50.39)

Rayudu has been very consistent in his run-scoring

Rayudu's name in this list will surprise many people as he is not a big name in the cricketing world by any stretch of the imagination. Rayudu has an average of 50.39 from 37 matches, which tells you that these are still early days in his career, still, one cannot take away the fact that he has been very consistent during the limited opportunities, provided to him so far.

One thing that Rayudu needs to improve upon is his strike-rate which is a disappointing 75.90. If he can improve upon this one aspect then he might end up being a regular member of the Indian side.