Team India has never faced any dearth of superstars in any format. But the one-day internationals (ODI) feel extra special. Ever since Kapil Dev’s iconic team scripted history and bamboozled all the notions to win the ODI World Cup in 1983, India’s progress has gone upwards. Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, and Sourav Ganguly have dominated decades before the new-age lot of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma came in.
In the 2000 era, India were the second-most successful ODI team behind Australia’s golden generation. But since 2010, no other team has won more ODIs than India’s 216. India’s win-loss ratio of 2.018 also stands as the best among all 24 teams that have played the format. The reason is simply because of the sheer talent that India has. Some of the all-time greats to have ever played the game have been Indians. Now, we take a look at the list of the players with the most ODI matches for India.
Most ODI matches for India ft. Virat Kohli
| Player | Span | Matches | Inns | Runs | Ave | 100/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1989-2012 | 463 | 452 | 18426 | 44.83 | 49/96 |
| MS Dhoni | 2004-2019 | 347 | 294 | 10599 | 50.23 | 9/73 |
| Rahul Dravid | 1996-2011 | 340 | 314 | 10768 | 39.15 | 12/82 |
| Mohammed Azharuddin | 1985-2000 | 334 | 308 | 9378 | 36.92 | 7/58 |
| Virat Kohli* | 2008-2026 | 309 | 296 | 14557 | 58.46 | 53/76 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 1992-2007 | 308 | 297 | 11221 | 40.95 | 22/71 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 2000-2017 | 301 | 275 | 8609 | 36.47 | 14/52 |
With India facing New Zealand in the first ODI on January 11, Virat Kohli has soared up the list. In the opening clash at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, Kohli has become the Indian with the fifth-most ODI appearances. The first-ever men’s international match at the Kotambi Stadium is Kohli’s 309th ODI match for India. In these games, Kohli has played across 296 innings, smoking 14,557 runs at an unbelievable average of below 59 and has a strike rate of 93.65.
Note, this is the tally for the number of ODI matches played for India. Otherwise, Ganguly has 311 ODI games, as he played three times for Asia XI as well, which had international status during his time. Above Kohli are Rahul Dravid (340 matches for India) and Mohammed Azharuddin (334). If Kohli’s desire to play till the 2027 ODI World Cup gets fulfilled, he might beat both the former India captains on the list. However, going past Sachin Tendulkar’s 463 and MS Dhoni’s 347 is not possible unless Kohli continues to play even after 2027, which, we all know, he wouldn’t.
Most ODI matches for India in India ft. Kohli
| Player | Span | Matches | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | 100/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1990-2011 | 164 | 160 | 6976 | 200* | 48.11 | 20/38 |
| Virat Kohli* | 2009-2026 | 128 | 124 | 6627 | 166* | 61.93 | 26/35 |
| MS Dhoni | 2005-2019 | 127 | 113 | 4351 | 183* | 53.71 | 7/25 |
| Mohammed Azharuddin | 1985-2000 | 113 | 102 | 3163 | 153* | 38.57 | 3/16 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 2000-2017 | 108 | 101 | 3415 | 150 | 41.64 | 7/21 |
Most matches for India ft. Rohit Sharma
| Player | Span | Matches | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | 100/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1989-2013 | 664 | 782 | 34357 | 248* | 48.52 | 100/164 |
| Virat Kohli* | 2008-2026 | 557 | 623 | 27975 | 254* | 52.58 | 84/145 |
| MS Dhoni | 2004-2019 | 535 | 523 | 17092 | 224 | 44.74 | 15/108 |
| Rohit Sharma* | 2007-2026 | 506 | 538 | 20048 | 264 | 42.47 | 50/111 |
| Rahul Dravid | 1996-2012 | 504 | 599 | 24064 | 270 | 45.57 | 48/145 |
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