ODI Cricket World Cup 2023: Ranking top 10 openers

After a gruelling Cricket World Cup 2023, India and Australia moved their attention to T20Is as the two teams got involved in a five-match series. India lost the World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad by six wickets as Australia won their sixth crown. 

One common thing in the success of both the finalists as well as semi-finalists South Africa was their experienced openers’ exceptional form. Illustrious names such as Rohit Sharma, David Warner and Quinton de Kock delivered impactful starts for their teams consistently and broke into the list of highest run-scorers. Noting their remarkable batting performances, let’s rank the 10 best openers of the tournament.

Here are the rankings of the 10 best opening batters

10. Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked decent with his bat in this World Cup. As an opener, he scored 280 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 98.93. In Afghanistan’s memorable World Cup campaign, Gurbaz will be remembered for his swift knock against England at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman received the Player of the Match award for his three-wicket haul in the famous win against the defending champions, but it was the young opener’s innings that emboldened the Afghan team. Riding on his sensational knock of 80 (57), Afghanistan bagged a convincing 69-run win against Jos Buttler and Co. 

After hammering the English team, Afghanistan’s next success came against Pakistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. This time, the 21-year-old stitched a 130-run partnership along with Ibrahim Zadaran and gave a perfect start to his side. In the end, the Afghan team registered an eight-wicket win over the Men in Green and Gurbaz contributed 65 (53) from his bat.