Top 5 averages among current openers in ODIs

#2 Rohit Sharma, 53.80

Sri Lanka v India - 4th ODI cricket

When he made his debut in 2007 in the CB Series, Ian Chappell, commentating for Channel 9 saw one back-foot punch by Rohit Sharma and became immediately convinced that he will be the successor to the seemingly irreplaceable Sachin Tendulkar.

Prodigy became inconsistency, which then turned into a frustrating run of failures at the international level and just when everyone felt Rohit Sharma's international career would come to a premature end, he was slotted to the top of the order and allowed to express his so customary "lazy elegance".

Between the four consecutive single-digit scores in Sri Lanka in 2010 and scoring his astounding third double century in ODIs, Rohit has finally converted his potential into results and he finally stands on a ground to justify Chappell's decade-old prediction. The push to opening the innings was all the difference, he averages 37% more than before and has made 15 centuries in 90 digs as compared to 2 in 79 innings batting elsewhere in the order.

At 31 only, Rohit's best years in international cricket lie ahead of him.

Stats as an opener:

Innings: 95, Runs: 4627, 100s:15, SR: 91.10