VIRAT KOHLI (IND)
12169 runs in 254 matches with 43 centuries, average of 59.07 and best of 183
Perhaps one of the biggest debuts in ODIs came in 2008 when Virat Kohli played his first match against Sri Lanka. Since then, Kohli has made 12169 runs in 254 matches with 43 centuries to his name with the highest score of 183 coming against Pakistan.
He has also led India to the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy as India captain and in the semis of the 2019 World Cup. He was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Kohli is still going strong in the format and is the second-highest century-maker in the format just behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries.
AB DE VILLIERS (SA)
9577 runs in 228 matches with 25 centuries, average of 53.50 and best of 176
The uber-talented AB de Villiers had a very fruitful career in ODIs for South Africa from 2004-2018. He made 9577 runs in 228 matches with 25 centuries to his name including the highest score of 176.
In a unique record that only De Villiers holds, all of his 25 ODI centuries came at a strike rate of over 100. He also holds the world record for the fastest half-century in 16 balls and the fastest ODI century in just 31 balls, which came against the West Indies in 2015.
His retirement came as a shock to the cricket fraternity as he was relatively young and there was just a year left for the 2019 World Cup.
MS DHONI (C&WK- IND)
10773 runs in 350 ODIs with 10 centuries, average of 50.57 and best of 183*
One of the other major debuts in the 21st century was that of MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman made his ODI debut in 2004 against Bangladesh and was run out for a duck and ended his career in the 2019 World Cup with a run-out dismissal for 50 runs.
"He didn’t look like he could bat to be honest," Anrich Nortje recalls bowling to MS Dhoni in 2010
Overall Dhoni played 350 ODIs and made 10773 runs with 10 centuries, including the highest individual score of 183* coming against Sri Lanka in 2005. He also made 444 dismissals behind the stumps, including a world record of 123 stumpings to his name.
However, Dhoni’s biggest impact came as the captain of the Indian team when he won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ICC World Cup in 2011, and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, becoming the only captain in international cricket to do so.
