Shikhar Dhawan: The ICC poster boy?

Dhawan averages 105 in the ongoing tournament at a strike rate of 94.6.

Shikhar Dhawan has gone great guns at all ICC events © Getty Images

Till Chris Gayle slammed his double-hundred against Zimbabwe at Manuka Oval, Shikhar Dhawan led the batting charts in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. He started the campaign with a dominating 76-ball 73 against Pakistan at Adelaide Oval: he looked all set for a hundred, but miscommunication with Virat Kohli led to him being run out. Read: Chris Gayle goes past Shikhar Dhawan to become leading run-scorer of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Dhawan was not willing to give up: a week after the Pakistan match, he played against stronger attack on a much larger Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He scored 137 from 146, clearing the humongous MCG ropes twice, bringing what can be called his city-in-law (is that a phrase?) to her feet. Read: Shikhar Dhawan’s return to form mirrors India’s change in fortunes at ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Dhawan averages 105 in the ongoing tournament at a strike rate of 94.6. In ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Dhawan had played five matches, scoring 363 runs at 90.75 with a strike rate of 101.4. His outing against South Africa had yielded a 94-ball 114: there is no doubt regarding his preferred opposition.

Dhawan’s numbers in the two ICC ODI tournaments and otherwis

Shikhar Dhawan	M	R	BF	SR	100s
World Cup, Champions Trophy	7	573	580	98.8	3
Other matches	48	1732	1981	87.4	4
Career	55	2305	2561	90.0	7

The difference is startling. This brings us to the question: who is the best batsman across the two ICC One-Day International (World Cup Cricket and Champions Trophy) tournaments? Let us put a bar of 500 runs and find out the answer.

Highest averages in ICC ODI tournaments (qualification: 500 runs)

Player	M	R	Ave	SR	100s
Shikhar Dhawan	7	573	95.50	98.8	3
Andrew Symonds	26	690	76.67	95.4	1
Michael Clarke	26	774	70.36	89.7
Saeed Anwar	25	1204	63.37	78.8	5
Viv Richards	23	1013	63.31	85.1	3
Sourav Ganguly	34	1671	61.89	79.6	7
Glenn Turner	14	612	61.20	64.0	2
Jonathan Trott	12	651	59.18	84.3
Damien Martyn	24	844	56.27	76.4
Rahul Dravid	41	1487	55.07	74.3	2

Dhawan sits head and shoulders above anyone else. The dominance of Australia and India are evident, given that they account for six of the ten names on the list. Viv Richards, having played in the pre-Powerplay era, deserves a mention, as does the run-machine Glenn Turner. Saeed Anwar makes the cut as well, while some may be surprised to see Jonathan Trott on the list. Trott’s average of 59, to go with a strike rate of 84, is usually overlooked — possibly because he never scored a hundred at the highest level. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

What about the fastest scorers, then? Dhawan has a strike rate of 99, while no one on the above table (barring Andrew Symonds) has exceeded 90. There are quite a few 70s, while Turner has a strike rate of 60. Let us focus on strike rates, then.

Highest strike rates in ICC ODI tournaments (qualification: 500 runs)

Player	M	R	Ave	SR	100s
Kapil Dev	26	669	37.17	115.1	1
Virender Sehwag	32	1232	41.07	104.4	3
Shikhar Dhawan	7	573	95.50	98.8	3
Adam Gilchrist	44	1467	34.93	97.0	1
Andrew Symonds	26	690	76.67	95.4	1
AB de Villiers	27	1158	46.32	95.2	3
Shane Watson	33	888	46.74	93.8	2
Brendon McCullum	42	857	30.61	90.2	1
Matthew Hayden	28	1197	49.88	90.0	3
Sanath Jayasuriya	58	1701	32.71	89.8	4

Kapil Dev’s strike rate of 115 to go with an average of 37 is remarkable (one must remember that he was a better bowler than batsman), as is the ability of Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist to maintain a hefty strike rate over a long period of time. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings

Dhawan, of course, makes an entry at No. 3 — which makes one wonder, does the concept of people delivering only at the highest level really hold good? Of course, it is still early days for Dhawan, but the way he is going, he may end up being ICC’s poster boy. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage