Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reiterated his claim of ODIs being the easiest format for batters who play in the top order.
It was only recently Manjrekar suggested that Indian stalwart Virat Kohli chose the easiest format (ODIs) to play. His comment came after Joe Root and Steve Smith slammed centuries in the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Manjrekar stated that Kohli’s decision to continue playing ODIs while quitting Test cricket, instead of working on his flaws, disappoints him.
It is worth mentioning that Kohli bid adieu to Test cricket in May 2025, following a dismal BGT campaign Down Under. Against Australia, he managed just 190 runs in nine innings, and kept getting out in a similar fashion by poking at the deliveries bowled outside off stump.
Kohli finished his Test career with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 hundreds and 31 half-centuries.
In a new video shared on his Instagram account, Manjrekar explained why he believes ODIs are the easiest format to play.
“A lot of people have asked me why I keep saying ODI cricket is easy for top-order batters. Go back a few years in Indian cricket and look at the guys who were opening for India for a long time in 50-over cricket. Those batters were middle-order batters in Test cricket. They were not very keen to open in Test cricket or bat in the top three. They were very happy to play at No. 4, 5, 6,” Manjrekar said.
“But come one day cricket, they were almost desperate to bat in the top three and open. Therein lies the answer as to why I believe it's easy for top order batters, because everybody is queuing up to bat in the top three. The first advantage you get when you are opening in 50-overs cricket or batting at No. 3, there's no four slips and a gully. And you know when a bowler is running in, he's not really coming in to get you out. He's just trying to make sure you don't get 10-15 runs an over,” he added.
Manjrekar further stated that he holds players such as MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina in the highest regard, considering the tough job they performed in ODIs by batting in the middle and lower-middle order.
“So if you are a good enough player, you just play out the first 10 to 15 overs. Then the field spreads out, and slowly, if you are a good rotator of strike, you get to a 100. The tough place to bat in one-day cricket is where Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, or MS Dhoni would bat, which is 4, 5, 6. Those were the tough positions,” he stated.
According to Manjrekar, no batter who plays in the top order in ODIs can be considered a batting great, considering they get the biggest chance possible to score very high number of runs.
“So if you are looking for a batting great, you won't find them in one-day cricket, and especially at number one, two, and three. One day cricket is the last place I would look at to see my batting great of today because there's just far too much going for people who bat in the top three in one day cricket,” he remarked.
