This World Cup hero has highest batting average in ODIs; and it’s not Kohli, Babar, Gill, de Villiers, or Tendulkar

The question ‘who has the highest batting average in ODIs’ has different answers, depending on what is your parameter for judging that. If you put a minimum limit of 6000 runs, the answer is Virat Kohli. But removing that opens the doors for many players. Some might name Pakistan captain Babar Azam, others will point to the newest sensation Shubman Gill. But there is one player, from a much less-heralded team, who has pipped all these stalwarts. And it’s not a name you may be able to guess easily.

Man with the highest batting average in ODIs

The answer to this question is Ryan ten Doeschate, the champion all-rounder from the Netherlands, who played 33 games for the Dutch side between 2006 and 2011, scoring 1541 runs at a whopping average of 67.00. Shubman Gill, the current world number 2 bat, comes in next with an average of 66.10, followed by Dawid Malan (61.10), Babar Azam (58.16), and Virat Kohli (57.38). Several other legends have batting averages over 50, including Michael Bevan, AB de Villiers, and MS Dhoni. Two men widely regarded as among the greatest ODI batters ever – Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar – average 47.00 and 44.83 respectively.

Ryan ten Doeschate’s World Cup heroics

In the 2011 World Cup, the the 31-year-old Tendo announced himself to the wider cricketing world in emphatic fashion. He started the tournament with a Man of the Match performance of 119 and 2/47 against England, following it up with a 50 against Bangladesh, and a 3-wicket haul against South Africa. However, the all-rounder reserved his best for the last. In March 2011, he scored 106 against Ireland in what was to be his final ODI for the Netherlands. He stepped away from international cricket, choosing to play County cricket for Essex for the next several years. At the 2011 World Cup, ten Doeschate scored 307 runs and took 7 wickets in just 6 games.

Ryan ten Doeschate’s career achievements

Widely regarded as one of the best players from an Associate nation, Ryan ten Doeschate won the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year Award three times between 2008 and 2011. He was the first Associate cricketer to bag an IPL contract when he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders, for whom he played for five seasons. In 2017, he returned to the Netherlands’ team for T20 internationals and helped them qualify for the T20 World Cup at the age of 37. After leading Essex to the County Championship win as captain, ten Doeschate led Netherlands at the 2021 T20 World Cup at the age of 41. This was his last gig as a professional cricketer.