ODI World Cup 2023: Shubman Gill and other Indian cricketers within inches of setting new world records

Rohit Sharma is fast approaching the record for most sixes in World Cup history. He is currently at 36, one behind AB de Villiers’ 37. Chris Gayle, the only man ahead of them, is some distance ahead at 49, but it is not unrealistic to expect that Sharma will surpass Gayle this year.

Against Afghanistan at Delhi, Rohit Sharma smashed a belligerent 84-ball 131, the fastest World Cup 100 by an Indian. It also took him past Sachin Tendulkar’s World Cup record of six centuries. Sharma reached there in only 19 matches, significantly fewer than Tendulkar’s 45.

At the time of writing this piece, Sharma’s 265 runs and 13 sixes are both the second-most at this World Cup. But 2023 is not even Sharma’s best World Cup yet. In England four years ago, Rohit had made five 100s (including three in a row, against England, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka). This remains a record for a single World Cup edition. No one else has got even four.

Rohit Sharma also amassed 648 runs with five 100s in that World Cup. While it is true that Tendulkar made 673 in 2003 and Matthew Hayden 659 in 2007, it is also true that Sharma played only nine games in 2019 – two fewer than Tendulkar or Hayden’s tally.

One record Sharma is approaching rapidly is that of most sixes in World Cup history. He has currently hit 36, one behind AB de Villiers’ 37. Chris Gayle, the only man ahead of them, is some distance ahead at 49, but it is not unrealistic to expect that Sharma would surpass Gayle: he has, after all, hit 13 sixes across his last three innings!

During the Pakistan match, Rohit Sharma hit the 300th six of his ODI career. Currently on 305, he is behind only Shahid Afridi (351) and Gayle (331). This seems an unrealistic target for this World Cup, but if Rohit plays on after that… why not?

While still on sixes, Rohit’s 13 at the 2023 World Cup is third on the all-time list for India. In second place is… Sharma himself (14 in 2019). Sourav Ganguly (15 in 2003) still tops this chart, but probably not for long. The way Sharma is going this time, even Gayle’s record of 26 in the 2015 World Cup seems achievable.

Sharma came into this edition 52 World Cup runs behind Virat Kohli. Four matches later, the difference reads 46 – Kohli, 1,289; Rohit Sharma, 1,243. Only three men – Tendulkar (2,243), Ricky Ponting (1,743), and Kumar Sangakkara (1,532) are ahead of them. A Rohit-Kohli race is something Indian fans should cherish.

Virat Kohli may break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI hundreds at this World Cup.

But all that is at the World Cup alone. Off it, Kohli (13,342) now stands within striking distance of Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430) and Ponting (13,704), and even Sangakkara (14,234) is within a thousand runs. If he goes past them, Kohli will scale the second spot in ODI history, though Tendulkar (18,426) will perhaps remain elusive.

However, Kohli may break Tendulkar’s other major record – of most ODI 100s – at this World Cup. Stuck on 43 centuries since August 2019, Kohli finally got his 44th in December 2022, and more followed. His 103 not out against Bangladesh at Gahunje was his 48th – one fewer than Tendulkar’s 49.

If Kohli indeed goes past Tendulkar, that record may never be broken. With 31 tons, Rohit Sharma is next on the list. Among active players, no one apart from them has even 22. As the Twenty20 leagues continue to squeeze the international calendar, ODIs are likely to dry out significantly in the years to come.

Another record Tendulkar still holds is of most ODI runs in a calendar year: he made 1,894 in 1998, significantly more than the second entry on the list – Ganguly’s 1,767 in 1999.

Between 1995 and 2019, at least one batter had scored a thousand runs every year, but Tendulkar’s record stood firm. Since the lockdown, the two World Test Championships and the two T20 World Cups pushed ODIs to the background, and not a single person managed the four-figure mark.

A World Cup in October and November, however, brought the focus back on ODIs in 2023, and Shubman Gill grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Dengue deprived him of two matches, yet Gill’s 1,299 is now less than 600 away from Tendulkar’s aggregate.

Shubman Gill needs just 14 runs across two innings, for the 'quickest 2,000 ODI runs' world record.

Gill will get at least five matches at the World Cup. More, if India make it to the knockouts. Even if he does not go past Tendulkar over the course of the tournament, he is likely to get three more ODIs when India tour South Africa at the end of the year.

As of now, Gill has made 1,986 runs in his entire ODI career from 37 innings, the most anyone has scored in as many appearances at the crease. He is set to break Hashim Amla’s world record of becoming the quickest to 2,000 runs: Amla had taken 40 innings to get to that milestone.

What about the bowlers? Mohammed Shami is yet to play at the 2023 World Cup. As of now, he stands at 31 wickets in the tournament’s history, and needs one more scalp to go past Anil Kumble. Among Indians, only Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath (44 each) have more.

Three wickets behind Shami is Jasprit Bumrah (28). Four years ago, Bumrah had 18 wickets in England, from nine matches. Here, he has 10 in four and, like Gill, can play up to a maximum of seven matches.

Even if Zaheer and Srinath’s aggregates seem far away, Zaheer’s 21 wickets in 2011 – the most for India in a single World Cup edition – is certainly achievable.

Bumrah’s 4-39 against Afghanistan was the second time he took four wickets in a World Cup match. He is tied with several others at second place, but all of them are some distance behind Shami’s Indian record of four.

Some, if not all, of these will almost certainly be broken by the time this World Cup gets over.