ICC World Cup 2019: 5 Players who have the ability to hit 200 in the tournament

Scoring a double century in ODI cricket was considered an impossible task for decades. A lot of players came close but the mental barrier was finally broken by the little master Sachin Tendulkar when he scored the first double century of ODI cricket on February 2010 against South Africa. 5 men cricketer and 2 women cricketer have breached the landmark and scoring a double century is no longer seen as an unachievable task.

The 2019 World Cup is just around the corner and fans all around the world will want their favourite cricketing stars to play some big and destructive innings in the mega event. Also, the pitches in England have changed drastically in the last few years for limited overs format and a lot of big scores can be expected on batting friendly pitches.

Here is a list of 5 players who have the ability to hit 200 in the mega event:

Rohit Sharma

The ODI performance of Rohit Sharma has improved leaps and bounds in the last few years and the experienced campaigner is currently the No. 2 batsman in ICC ODI ranking. When it comes to scoring double centuries in ODI cricket, Rohit Sharma is on a different league of his own as with three double centuries to his name, he is the only player to score more than one double century in ODI cricket.

The opener has an ODI average of around 47 with a strike rate of about 88. But the strike rate takes a major rise once the southpaw crosses the 100 run mark and he usually strikes with a strike rate of around 175 after breaching the three-figure mark. His ability to play big innings and go berserk after getting used to the conditions makes him the most probable candidate for scoring a double century in the World Cup.

David Warner

The aggressive left-handed opener is back in international cricket after serving a one year ban by Cricket Australia (CA) for his involvement in the ball-tampering incident in South Africa. He is in tremendous form in the IPL this year and is also the leading run scorer and Orange Cap holder currently. The Australian has taken a positive approach as he looks much more determined and focused to regain his spot in the Australian team.

The batsman has an ODI average of around  43 with 14 hundreds to his name and an impressive strike rate of 96.55. His ability to score quickly in the power play overs and rotate the strike in the middle overs makes him a match-winner in the limited-overs formats. He has never breached the 200 run mark in ODI cricket, but the Australian will look to reach the milestone and answer the critics with his willow in the coming World Cup.

Chris Gayle

The “Universe Boss” will be playing his last World Cup in England and Wales and the Jamaican will look to light up the mega event with some big match-winning performances for his team. The hulk-like Jamaican batter smashed his only double century in ODI cricket in the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand against Zimbabwe when he smashed 215 runs off just 147 balls.

The big man has been in good form recently and scored 424 runs in 4 innings with 2 centuries in his last ODI series against England. He has also hammered 444 runs in 10 IPL innings thus far in the ongoing season. On his day, Chris Gayle is a nightmare for bowlers and there is no better striker of the cricket ball than him. Playing his last World Cup, he will look to end on a high and there is nothing better than ending it with a big double century.

Jonny Bairstow

It was never easy for Jonny Bairstow to get into the new England side with Alex Hales and Jason Roy performing brilliantly at the top of the order and Jos Buttler being the first wicket-keeper option in the team. But the Yorkshire lad continued performing brilliantly in domestic cricket and once the opportunity came it didn’t take long for him to make his mark as the southpaw smashed two centuries against the Windies and has grabbed every opportunity with both hands that has come his way in the past few years.

While playing his first IPL this year, he scored 445 runs in 10 innings and with that has sealed his opening slot in England team in the coming World Cup. In 54 ODI innings, he averages around 46 and it’s his impressive strike rate of 105 that stands out. The right-hander has the ability to play long innings and will look to notch up his first double century in the coming 50-overs tournament.

Fakhar Zaman

A cricket match between India and Pakistan is much more than just a game, it’s the biggest cricketing event, where new heroes are born and one bad day against the arch-rivals have the potential to shoot down a player with criticism. It’s the biggest opportunity for players from both sides to make a name for themselves and Fakhar Zaman grabbed the opportunity with both hands by scoring a match-winning century and being the Man of the Match in a high voltage final against India in the Champions trophy.

He is among the few batsmen to have scored a double century in ODIs and became the first batsman from Pakistan to reach the milestone on 20th July 2018. He scored an unbeaten 210 runs against the Zimbabwe team. Though his recent form has not been great and questions are asked about his place in the team, the opener will look to regain his lost touch and answer his critics with another double century in the coming World Cup.

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