Top 10 opening batsmen in ODIs at the moment

Mark Greatbatch (in the 1992 World Cup), Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitrana (both during the 1996 World Cup) can be credited with redefining the role of openers in limited-overs cricket. Since then, the art of opening has come a long way, and it has become one of the most important positions in a team.

The main job of an opening batsman is to make use of the field restriction overs and get the team off to a flying start. Nowadays, we have openers who like to start off slowly and make up for the slow start when they settle in.

Note: Batting average since January 1, 2015, have been taken into account in ranking the batsmen from 1-10. Batsmen with at least 25 innings have been considered. Tillakaratne Dilshan deserved to feature on the list with an average of over 47 in 28 innings but he has not been included because he is not actively playing anymore

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#10 Tom Latham

Tom Latham is currently not a part of the Kiwi side

After a long time, New Zealand have found a settled opening combination in ODIs in the form of Martin Guptill and Tom Latham. Having said that, Latham was not a part of the Kiwi playing XI during the 2017 Champions Trophy.

In spite of that, he features on the list of top 10 ODI openers at the moment, thanks to his brilliance over the last couple of years. With Guptill taking on the bowling attack, Latham's role is to anchor the innings and he does it perfectly.

The left-hander has scored 1110 runs in 21 innings at an average of 38.27 and a strike-rate of 84 in the period and gets a place on the list ahead of the likes of Jason Roy and Soumya Sarkar.

Latham should try and improve his scoring rate and look to rotate the strike in the middle-overs to keep the scorecard moving if he wants to feature in the team's plans in the future.

#9 Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali during the Champions Trophy final against India

Over the last few years, the Pakistani team have been looking for an opening batsman half as good as Saeed Anwar. They have tried the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad and even skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, but none of them have been able to cement their place in the team as an opener.

After the 2015 World Cup, the PCB team management took a bold call and trusted Test specialist Azhar Ali, handing him the ODI captaincy as well. Captaincy made him a more responsible batsman at the top of the order and since then, he has been the team's second most successful batsman in the format after Babar Azam.

Azhar has made sure that the team have gotten off to solid starts on a consistent basis and has been a rock in their batting order. In the 33 matches he has played in the duration, Azhar has amassed 1288 runs at an average of 39 and a strike-rate of 79 with the help of three centuries and seven fifties.

Having said that, Azhar has to improve his scoring rate as a strike-rate of 79 is not good enough in the modern-day game.

#8 Alex Hales

Alex Hales pulls a ball during England's recent series against South Africa

Ever since the 2015 World Cup debacle, England have been a completely different team in ODIs. The ECB have made a lot of changes to the ODI set-up and have brought in few new players to feature in the format. These players have, without a doubt, made a big difference to the way the Poms have approached the format.

One of the main names is Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales, who got a second lease of life as an opener. The opening batsman has been doing something on a consistent basis that the team have missed in the past, getting them off to flying starts regularly.

He has scored 1639 runs in 40 innings at an average of 42 and a strike-rate of 100 with the help of five centuries and 10 fifties in the last 30 months and has cemented his spot in the playing XI. He does his job to perfection, giving Eoin Morgan and his men a quick start, but, at the same time, he should try and play longer innings on a consistent basis.

#7 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan deserves more than what he is getting from the fans

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan might get a lot of stick from the fans for his performances but the Delhi batsman deserves better as he is one of the most underrated openers in the world. He does his job perfectly for the Men in Blue, getting the team off to flying starts and allowing his opening partner Rohit Sharma to take his time. However, he often ends up getting out cheaply in the process.

The dashing southpaw is a big match player and he has been India's best batsman, yes, better than Virat Kohli, in all the ICC ODI tournaments in the last 4-5 years.

He has averaged 43.32 and scored his 1733 runs at a strike-rate of 95 with the help of five tons and ten fifties in 41 innings. The Men in Blue will hope that Dhawan continues to do his good work so that they can win back the World Cup in 2019.

#6 Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock is on his way to greatness in ODIs

The trend nowadays is that Virat Kohli breaks all the records held by AB de Villiers, which are again broken by Hashim Amla and Amla's records are eventually broken by his opening partner Quinton de Kock.

The left-hander has been a revelation for the Proteas at the top of the order ever since making his debut and has been shattering all records in this format. He rose to prominence by scoring three centuries in a three-match ODI series against India in 2013 and has not stopped scoring since then.

The wicketkeeper-bat has the right mix of consistency and aggression and has accounted for 2037 runs in the given period at an average of 43.34 and a strike-rate of 98 with six centuries and ten fifties. He gets his team off to fliers and has the ability to bat deep, something that has been visible in him over the last few years.

The southpaw has pipped Shikhar Dhawan by 0.02 units to get hold of the sixth spot on this list.

#5 Hashim Amla

Amla will be itching to hit form at the earliest

As mentioned in the previous slide, Hashim Amla has been the only one who has threatened Virat Kohli's records of being the fastest to score a certain number of runs. The right-hander has improved a lot since making his ODI debut and now knows the format like the back of his hand.

The way he complements his opening partner de Kock makes the two one of the most successful opening combinations at the moment. What makes him stand out from the others is his ability to rotate strike in the middle overs and keep the scorecard ticking.

The right-hander has scored 2235 runs in 52 matches at an average of 45.61 and a strike-rate of 91 with eight fifties and as many centuries. He might be a bit off-colour by the standards he has set for himself these days, but all batsmen hit lean patches and a player like Amla will surely hit back all guns blazing.

#4 Tamim Iqbal

The greatest Bangladeshi ODI cricketer ever

Bangladesh are one of the most improved teams in the world in the last few years and now, a force to reckon with, both home and away.

One of the main reasons for their success in ODIs has been their opening combination Youngster Soumya Sarkar has been the aggressor, taking the attack to the opposition in the first few overs. With Soumya doing his job perfectly and Sabbir Rahman, the number 3 batsman, possessing a penchant to go after the bowling, the Tigers needed someone who could anchor the innings.

This is where Tamim Iqbal comes into the picture. The southpaw has been around for over a decade and has become a very mature batsman. He has been very successful of late and is Bangladesh's best batsman in the format.

Since January 2015, Tamim has managed to play just 24 matches and has scored 1772 runs in those matches at an average of 52.11 and strike-rate of just over 80 with the help of five centuries and 11 fifties. If he can somehow find a way to bat a bit quicker, he will be among the best ODI batsmen in the world.

#3 Martin Guptill

Baz's replacement found?

Brendon McCullum was one of the most fearless batsmen of his time and after his retirement, the Kiwis were looking for someone to replace him. His opening partner Martin Guptill has risen to the occasion and has continued from where McCullum left off.

Guptill, who has scored 2522 runs in 55 matches, might not be as aggressive as his former opening partner, but he has gotten his team off to flying starts. Along with his aggressive style of batting, the Kiwi opener has been consistent as he averages over 52 and scores his runs at a strike-rate of 99.

Once he gets his eye in, he is very dangerous and has the habit of converting his starts into big innings. He might not be appreciated as much as someone like Hashim Amla or Quinton de Kock, but he is more effective than most of the batsmen going around at the moment irrespective of the batting position.

#2 David Warner

The trademark David Warner celebration

2016 was a memorable year for David Warner as the Australian vice-captain scored 1388 runs in the year with the help of seven centuries. In the remainder of his career, the southpaw has scored just six centuries.

Warner has been very consistent in the last three years and has started adapting to the demands of the format, something that has been his undoing in ODIs for a while. Known for his big-hitting abilities, Warner has always taken his team off to good starts in the field restriction overs and now, has learnt to pace his innings and stay at the crease for a longer time, something that is making him even more dangerous.

Scoring runs at over a run-a-ball and doing that with consistency is always a blessing in disguise for any captain and this is exactly the kind of luxury Warner is giving Smith.

In the above-mentioned period, the Aussie has amassed 2465 runs in 44 innings at an average of 60.12 and a strike-rate of 107. Warner missed the number 1 spot by just 0.03 units as Indian opener Rohit Sharma averages 60.15 in the same duration.

#1 Rohit Sharma

The best in what he does

1985 runs in 37 innings at an average of 60.15 and strike-rate of 90; those numbers are phenomenal for a batsman irrespective of the format and that is what makes Rohit Sharma the best ODI opener at the moment.

Ever since being asked to open the innings in 2013, Rohit has been a completely different player as he has taken to the role like a duck to water. The right-hander has not only cemented his place in the Indian team but has also gone on to become one of the best ODI players at the moment, shatter records in the process.

With Dhawan being the aggressor, Rohit likes to take his time to settle in and bat for as many overs as possible. Everyone knows how dangerous Rohit is when he gets his eye in as he has the knack of scoring big whenever he gets a start.

He has been doing this consistently since 2013 and has already scored a couple of double centuries in the format including the highest ever ODI score of 264.