Opening the innings is an art which not every batter can master. Some can perform well as an opener, some bat well in the middle-order, whereas some players are at their best when playing as a finisher. Speaking of openers, the Asian openers have always done a great job.
Over the years, some of the best openers have emerged from Asian nations. Many fans feel the trend is that way because the youngsters in these countries prefer batting, and that too batting before others.
So, in this listicle now, we will look at the top three Asian openers with the best batting average in the purest format of the game, Test cricket.
3. One of the best Asian openers: Virender Sehwag – 50.14
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag made a name for himself with his excellent batting performances. He made Test cricket entertaining for the fans with his aggressive approach. The right-handed batter made his Test debut at number six, but soon, he became an opener and ended with 8,207 runs to his name at an average of 50.04.
2. The Little Master Sunil Gavaskar – 50.29
Another former Indian opener to feature on the list is Sunil Gavaskar. He is reckoned by many as one of the greatest batters in cricket history. The former Indian batter played 203 innings as an opener, aggregating 9,607 runs at an average of 50.29.
1. One of the best current Asian openers: Rohit Sharma – 57.14
Current Indian Test team captain Rohit Sharma became a regular opener in 2019 only, and in the 28 innings, he has played as an opener for the country, the Hitman has scored 1,491 Test runs at an average of 57.14. He has scored four fifties and five hundreds, with his highest score being 212.
Best Batting Averages by Asian Openers in Test (Min 1000 Runs)
57.34 – Rohit Sharma
50.29 – Sunil Gavaskar
50.14 – Virender Sehwag
49.16 – Abid Ali
47.10 – Saeed Anwar#INDvsSLAdvertisement— Trendy Cricket (@Trendy_Cricket) March 10, 2022
The top three on this list are all from India. From Pakistan, Abid Ali and Saeed Anwar hold the fourth and fifth positions on the all-time with batting averages of close to 50.
