CWC 2019: 5 leading contenders for the highest run-getter in ICC 2019 World Cup

These five batsmen have the best chance of becoming the highest run-getters of the World Cup 2019.

The 2019 ICC World Cup is going to be one of the biggest events in this year’s cricket calendar given the current form of many international players and teams. The recent records of teams like England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa have given some excitement to the upcoming tournament, as fans are discussing the winners.

There are many players who did well in the previous edition of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will feature in the 2019 World Cup as well. However, there will also be a focus on some of the players who made their debuts in past few years of international cricket. Such cricketers will be expected to light the competition on fire.

Though bowlers have been stars of many World Cup tournaments as mentioned before, this time the focus will be on the batsmen, who put up the runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. India’s Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 2278 runs in 45 World Cup matches with 6 centuries. He also top-scored in two World Cups in 1996 and 2003 with a record 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, while Matthew Hayden from Australia scored 659 runs in 2007 edition of the ICC megaevent.

Clive Lloyd (1975) and Viv Richards (1979) of West Indies, Aravinda de Silva (1996) and Mahela Jayawardene (2011) of Sri Lanka, Ricky Ponting (2003) and Adam Gilchrist (2007) of Australia are the batsmen to score a century in the finals of a World Cup.

Keeping the same trend in mind, Team COC presents to you five batsmen who might be contenders for highest run-getter in the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

Here are the 5 leading contenders for highest run-getter in ICC 2019 World Cup

QUINTON DE KOCK (SA)
The baby-faced South African wicketkeeper-opener Quinton de Kock has been amazing in the limited overs format. De Kock has 4249 runs in 101 ODIs with 13 centuries and the best score of 178. The Proteas opener has been devastating against the best of attacks all over the world.

Though he has had issues with spinners on turning tracks, England pitches and conditions provide him with the opportunity to go after the bowlers at the start of the innings, setting a big platform for hitters like David Miller to go berserk in the death overs. Given that De Kock bats at the top, he is one of the foremost contenders for most runs in the ICC World Cup 2019.

JASON ROY (ENG)
England’s own Jason Roy is also one of the leading contenders for leading the run chart in the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup. Roy has 2536 runs in 70 ODIs with 6 centuries and a best of 180 and a strike rate of 104.23. Roy is a dangerous batsman at the top of the order and often takes liberties with the fielding restrictions in the first 10 overs.

He has the power to hit the ball long and keep going at a furious pace throughout the innings once he gets set. Roy was one of the chief architects of England’s resurgence as an ODI superpower which has gotten them the no.1 spot in the ODI team rankings. Jason Roy will be amongst the top choices for being the leading run scorers of the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup tournament.

KANE WILLIAMSON (NZ)

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, has been amongst the top run-getters in the world in almost all formats of international cricket. Williamson has scored 5554 runs in 139 ODIs with 11 centuries at an average of 45.90 and a best of 145*. Though his strike rate is 82.61, Williamson is the glue that holds the Kiwi batting lineup together.

Williamson has been considered one of the four greatest batsmen of the current modern era along with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Joe Root and Williamson have been amongst the runs since a long time. Williamson is comfortable against pace and spin and has a developed a game in which his coaching manual batting has become adapted to the modern T20 game.

Though he had a lackluster 2015 World Cup which was played at home, Williamson’s game has evolved since then and is definitely a contender for the batsman with most runs in the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup.

ROHIT SHARMA (IND)
Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma is probably one of the best batsmen in the world since he started opening the innings since 2013. He has scored 5830 runs since 2013 in 114 innings with 20 centuries and three double centuries.

He has been one of the most devastating openers in the world in ODIs, with over 7 scores of 150 plus in ODIs, showing that though eh tales some time in getting set at the start, most of the times, once he gets set, he goes on to make a big score for his team. Given his additional leadership skills, Rohit Sharma has proven to be one of the best batsmen in the world.

However, this coming World Cup in 2019 in England and Wales he can atone for his lukewarm outing in the previous edition in 2015 and become the leading run-getter in the tournament.

VIRAT KOHLI (IND)
Despite Rohit Sharma’s mountain of runs in the previous 6 years of ODI cricket, he has been unfortunate to play in the same team as the current Indian captain Virat Kohli, who has overshadowed him in scoring runs and winning matches during chases.

Virat Kohli has scored 6647 runs since 2013 in 126 innings. What is amazing about him is that Kohli sits on the second spot in the list of most centuries in ODI cricket with 39 hundreds to his name just behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries. Kohli is also the fastest to 10,000 ODI runs in the one-day format and has an average of near 100 in successful run chases in the one-day format.

There will be a big focus on Virat Kohli during the 2019 World Cup as he leads the Indian team in the mega ICC event. The focus will be on not only how Kohli leads the team, but also how many runs Kohli scores, as he is the main lynchpin for India’s success in ODIs in recent times.