Former Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath has named his top five Indian batters in One-Day International (ODI) cricket which is a list that has already stirred strong reactions among fans.
McGrath placed Virat Kohli at the top, calling his consistency, average, and strike rate “unbelievable.” However, what caught everyone’s attention was his decision to rank Rohit Sharma above Sachin Tendulkar, putting Rohit at No. 2 and the Master Blaster at No. 3. Completing McGrath’s list were MS Dhoni at No. 4 and Yuvraj Singh at No. 5. Notably, Virender Sehwag did not make the cut.
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Explaining his picks, McGrath praised Rohit’s one-day achievements, including his three double centuries and the record-breaking score of 264. “His numbers in ODIs are just unbelievable,” he said, adding that Rohit’s class as a batsman often extended beyond the format.
While Tendulkar retired with an unmatched tally of 18,426 ODI runs from 463 matches, Rohit has already crossed 11,000 runs in 276 ODIs, and his form shows no signs of fading.
Rohit’s recent milestone
Rohit Sharma recently created history by becoming the oldest Indian player to reach No. 1 in the ICC ODI batting rankings at 38 years and 182 days. His latest rise came after a strong showing in the ODI series against Australia, where he finished as the highest run-scorer with 202 runs in three matches at an average of 101, earning the Player of the Series award.
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In contrast, India’s current captain Shubman Gill, who held the top spot before Rohit, struggled in the same series, scoring just 43 runs in three innings.
McGrath’s rankings have sparked fresh debate among cricket enthusiasts, once again revisiting the long-standing discussion of who truly stands as India’s greatest in the 50-over format,
