The game of cricket is all about numbers. A team sets a number on the board and another team tries to get one better than that. Similarly, it has a huge history of records consisting of numbers. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar is the king of all the numbers as he sits pretty on top all the batting records.
He is the leading run-getter in international cricket. Talking about ODI cricket, he has amassed 18426 runs in 463 ODIs, by far the best in the format. No current player is anywhere close to that number. It’s highly unlikely that anyone would reach there either which is why Tendulkar is widely regarded as the best batsman to have ever graced the game of cricket. He is a true legend of the game that no one can match his stature.
For other players, there is a benchmark of 10000 ODI runs that puts them in an elite list. Only 11 players so far have been able to achieve that feat in the history of ODI cricket. There are a few in the current bunch who assure to achieve that too.
Let’s take a look at the batsmen who are next in line to reach 10000 ODI runs
#1 MS Dhoni
With 9608 runs in ODI cricket, MS Dhoni is currently the closest to 10000 runs. With India set to play a handful of ODIs this year, the former captain could well get to the landmark this year itself. With the kind of fitness he possesses, he has a good 2-3 years of cricket left in him.
Dhoni has played 299 matches so far and has maintained a staggering average of 51.93. He has a strike rate of 88.47 with 10 centuries and 65 half-centuries. The wicket-keeper may not have been that successful in the longest format of the game but ODI cricket has always been his forte. For such a daunting record, it’s fitting that he gets to the 5 figures in his career.