Former India captain Rohit Sharma ended 2025 as the highest-ranked ODI batter in the world after terrific outings in the Champions Trophy, as well as in the ODI series against England, Australia and South Africa. Sharma ended the year with 781 ratings, eight more than second-placed Virat Kohli.
India featured in three bilateral series and in the Champions Trophy. Sharma scored a whopping 650 runs in 14 appearances.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | HS | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 14 | 650 | 50.0 | 121* | 4/2 |
Add AllSportsPeople as a preferred news source
Last year, Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam ended the year with the highest ODI rank. Babar is the only Pakistani cricketer in the 21st century to reach the pinnacle of Men’s ODI batting, let alone achieving the feat four consecutive times.
Apart from Babar, other prominent batters to have dominated the list in the 21st century are India's talisman Virat Kohli and Mr. 360 himself, South African batter AB de Villiers. Previous to de Villiers, Hashim Amla was the world’s best ODI batsman for quite some time.
The two South Africans dominated the top ODI batter list for seven years straight between 2010 and 2017, quite an extraordinary feat indeed.
In today’s story with AllSportsPeople, we take a look at the list of players at the top of the Men’s ODI rankings in each year of the 21st century.
MORE: India squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Best ODI batsman in every calendar year in the 21st century
| Player | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Bevan | Australia | 2000 |
| Michael Bevan | Australia | 2001 |
| Michael Bevan | Australia | 2002 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 2003 |
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 2004 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 2005 |
| Michael Hussey | Australia | 2006 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 2007 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 2008 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 2009 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 2010 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 2011 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 2012 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 2013 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 2014 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 2015 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 2016 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2017 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2018 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2019 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2020 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 2021 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 2022 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 2023 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 2024 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 2025 |
Related links:
- When is India’s next T20 match? Listing India’s T20I schedule ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup
- Do IPL players pay tax? Explaining how salary cap, deductions cut into player incomes
- Which teams have won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy?