ICC World Cup 2019: 7 batsmen who can be the leading run scorers

ICC World Cup 2019 will start on 30 May 2019 with hosts England playing against South Africa at The Oval in the inaugural match. The final will take place at the Lord's on July 14.

This time the number of teams has been reduced from 16 to 10. Top eight teams in the ICC One Day International rankings qualified directly for the tournament, while the Windies and Afghanistan qualified after securing the top two positions in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in March 2018 in Zimbabwe.

The pitches in England are flat and will be helpful for the batsmen. With flat pitches on offer, the batsmen will be hitting the ball around the park and the bowlers are expected to have a torrid time.

As the World Cup is nearing, so let us have a look at the seven batsmen who could end up being the leading run scorers of the tournament.

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#7 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has been India's most dependable opener in the ICC tournaments. He is the only batsman to win two consecutive Golden Bats, in Champions Trophy 2013 and '17. Also, he was India's leading run-getter in ICC World Cup 2015. Also, he scored 1000 ODI runs in a minimum number of matches.

Dhawan is currently the No. 9 batsman in ODI rankings and can come back to the Top 5 if can do his best in the tournament.

Dhawan played 19 ODIs in 2018. He was the third highest run-getter for India in this format. He scored 897 runs which included three centuries and two half-centuries. His average was 49.83, and his strike rate was 102.28. He was the Man of the Series in the Asia Cup 2018. He was the first Indian to score a century in his 100th ODI. He achieved that milestone against South Africa at Johannesburg on February 10.

Dhawan's records speak for himself and if he does justice to his talents, he is expected to be on the leading run-getters list in the forthcoming World Cup.

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#6 Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow celebrating his century against Scotland in 2018.

Jonny Bairstow has been the most reliable batsman for England in ODIs. His debut match in ICC 50 over events was against Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2017 in Cardiff. He replaced Jason Roy due to the latter's poor form in the tournament. Since then, he has never looked back.

Bairstow is currently ranked as the No. 13 batsman in ODI rankings. He will do his best to meet the expectations of his fans in his debut World Cup and might well break through into the top 10 rankings.

Bairstow played 22 One Day Internationals in 2018. He was the third highest run-getter in this format last year. He scored 1025 runs which included four centuries and two half-centuries. His strike rate was 118.22 and average was 46.59. He is the first player to achieve the milestone of scoring two ODI centuries under 60 balls in a year.

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#5 Virat Kohli

Kohli scoring 160 against South Africa at Newlands.

Virat Kohli is the most influential batsman of the current generation. He has already played in World Cup 2011 and 2015. World Cup 2011 was unforgettable for him when India lifted the World Cup under MS Dhoni's captaincy.

But 2015 was also a quite fine campaign for him as India lost in the semifinals to eventual champions Australia. He was the third highest run scorer for India in the Champions Trophy 2017.

Kohli is ranked as the No. 1 batsman in ODIs. However, he has failed to cross the 50-run mark in World Cup matches while chasing targets. But Indian fans will keep their fingers crossed and hope that Kohli can turn that around in this World Cup.

Kohli has captained his nation in 14 ODIs, out of which he has won 9 matches. His winning percentage in ODIs in 2018 was 64.29. He also scored the most runs in this format, bagging 1202 runs which included six centuries and three half-centuries.

His strike rate was 102.55 and average was 133.55. He is the first Indian captain to score two 150s in ODIs in a year. Also, he is the only Indian batsman to score 500+ runs in a bilateral ODI series.

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#4 Tamim Iqbal

Tamim scoring century against Windies at Providence Stadium.

Tamim Iqbal is one of the most devoted players this generation has ever witnessed. This was on display when he, despite being injured, came out to support his partner Mushfiqur Rahim in the first match of Asia Cup 2018 at Dubai.

Tamim was the third highest run-getter in the Champions Trophy 2017 and he is very comfortable with English conditions.

Tamim is ranked No. 15 in ODIs. Destructive batting performances at the top, something that the dashy southpaw is known for, can help him break into the top 10.

Tamim played 12 One Day Internationals in 2018. He was the second most run-getter for Bangladesh in this format last year. He scored 684 runs, which included two centuries and six half-centuries. His strike rate was 76.33 and average was 85.5.

He has scored most runs for Bangladesh in ODIs and has been instrumental for his country's progress in the limited overs format.

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#3 Joe Root

Joe Root celebrates after winning the ODI series against India.

Joe Root is the most accomplished batsman from England. He was the highest run-scorer for England in Champions Trophy 2017. He is the youngest English batsman to score a century in World Cup history. He did it against Sri Lanka in 2015 at Westpac Stadium. And he had an unforgettable campaign in World Cup 2015.

Root is ranked No. 4 batsman in ODIs. He will be breathing down hard on Kohli's neck as he competes for the top spot in ODI rankings. Also, the home conditions will assist his batting.

Joe Root played 22 One Day Internationals in 2018 and emerged as the second highest run-getter for England in this format last year. He scored 946 runs, which included three centuries and five half-centuries. His strike rate was 83.94 and average was 59.13. He has the highest career average among the English players.

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#2 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has proved himself to be the best opener in shorter formats at present. He was India's second highest run-getter in ICC World Cup 2015. He was also the second highest run-getter in the Champions Trophy 2017.

Rohit is ranked as No. 2 batsman in ODIs. He, along with Kohli and Dhawan, are the nightmares of any opposition. The trio can dominate the batting in the whole tournament.

Rohit, who is considered to be one of the finest batsmen now, played 19 One Day Internationals in 2018 and was the second highest run-getter in this format that year. He scored 1030 runs in ODIs last year, which included five centuries and three half-centuries. His strike rate was 100.09 and average was 73.57.

He became the first Indian batsmen to score two 150s against Windies in a year. His highest was 162 against Windies on 29 October in Mumbai. In the absence of Kohli, he also led his nation to their 7th Asia Cup title win last year.

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#1 Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson celebrates his ton against Pakistan at Basin Reserve.

Kane Williamson is certainly one the best-ever batsmen to have played for New Zealand. He played in World Cup 2011 and 2015 -- both these campaigns were forgettable for him. He was also the highest run-scorer for New Zealand in Champions Trophy 2017.

Kane is ranked No. 11 in the ODI rankings. However, a good World Cup will easily see him break into the top 5. Also, his county experiences might help him score runs on English pitches.

With the Black Caps' middle order heavily reliant on him along with Ross Taylor and Tom Latham, Williamson will need to come good for his country to have any chances of progressing into the business end of the tournament.

The New Zealand captain played 11 One Day Internationals in 2018 and was the second highest run-getter for his country in this format last year. He scored 468 runs, which included two centuries and a single half-century. His strike rate was 75.97 and average was 46.8.

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