List of Players who reached Fastest 2000 Runs in ODI cricket

Top 10 Players to reach Fastest 2000 ODI Runs

Playing your first few games in any format of the sport can be tough. Players feel the most pressure while making their debuts and facing international bowlers for the first time. However, thanks to the IPL, players like Gill already had the experience of playing quality bowlers even before he made his international debut.

11. Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings)

Shikhar Dhawan is the 11th fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. The left-handed opener reached the milestone in 48 innings. Dhawan’s debut was unforgettable as he was dismissed for a silver duck. He bounced back in style in his next match with a half-century. However, it was the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 that brought a revolution to not only the Indian cricket team but also in the career of Dhawan. 

The former opening batter started the tournament with a bang scoring two centuries in the first two games. On his course to 2000 runs, Dhawan made four more centuries. He reached the milestone against Sri Lanka on the 9th of November in 2014. In the match, Shikhar made 91 runs and helped India chase down a score of 243.

10. Viv Richards (48 innings)

Viv Richards was possibly the first superstar batter cricket produced in ODI cricket. The West Indies’ batter reached the milestone in 48 innings. Richards was the first player to score 2000 runs in ODI cricket. His 48th innings came against India during the 1983 ODI World Cup. In a crucial group stage match at The Oval, ‘King Viv’ scored 119 runs in 146 balls in a match-winning knock against the eventual champions, India.

Richards only scored four centuries to reach 2000 runs in 48 innings. However, he made multiple fifty-plus scores and managed to get decent starts. His strike rate was pretty impressive in spite of playing in an era where playing risky shots was frowned upon. 

9. Shai Hope (47 innings)

Shai Hope broke the 36-year-old record of Viv Richards when he became the fastest to 2000 runs representing the West Indies. Hope had a decent debut tour in 2016 in a tri-nation series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. His first two knocks were 47 and 101. However, he was not able to retain the same form in his next few matches. Hope had to wait for five innings to score his second half-century. 

Once he managed to score his second ton, Hope became much more consistent. In preparation for the 2019 World Cup, the wicketkeeper batter scored back-to-back centuries against Ireland and Bangladesh. He reached the milestone of 2000 runs during his knock of 109 runs. Hope scored six tons to reach the milestone in 47 innings.

8. Jonathan Trott (47 innings)

Jonathan Trott is the 8th fastest to 2000 runs in ODI. The English cricketer reached the milestone in 47 innings. Trott started his One-Day career with a three-ball duck against Ireland. The South African-born batter played for England in 68 ODIs. 

Starting with a duck was not a hurdle in Trott’s way as the right-handed batter quickly bounced with five half-centuries and a century in the next six matches. The purple patch was followed by a string of low scores against Pakistan. Once Trott reached the 1000-run mark he had somehow lost the ability to make centuries. In spite of being given an opening position, the right-handed batter failed to convert his fifties into hundreds. In 68 ODIs, Trott made 22 half-centuries but could only convert four of them into the triple figures.

7. Imam-ul-Haq (46 innings)

Imam-ul-Haq had an incredible start to his career. The Pakistani opening batter was the joint second fastest to 1000 runs in ODIs. The left-handed batter reached the milestone of 2000 runs in 46 innings. Rarely anything goes wrong when your career starts with a century on the debut like Imad did against Sri Lanka. 

A series of hundreds in his first 20 matches meant that the Lahore-born batter started his career impressively. However, after reaching the milestone of 1000 runs, Imam found himself in tricky waters. The Pakistani batter would on many occasions get out for a single-digit scores. This in turn put a lot of pressure on his team as he managed to score only 305 runs in the 2019 World Cup. After a torrid run of scores post the World Cup, Imam reached the milestone of 2000 runs against England in a losing match.

6. Rassie van der Dussen (45 innings)

Rassie van der Dussen is the 6th fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. Van der Dussen’s international debut came after a lot of hard work and toiling in the domestic circuit. The right-handed batter had played in multiple countries and leagues before finally debuting for South Africa.

He made all his hard work in the domestic circuit once he started to play for South Africa. His career started with a bang but the first hundred in ODIs eluded him for a long period. It was his 17th innings when he scored his first ODI ton. The top-order batter managed to retain consistency in scoring fifty-plus scores. He scored four more centuries including one in the 2023 ODI World Cup to reach 2000 runs in 45 innings.

5. Babar Azam (45 innings)

Babar Azam is arguably one of the best technically gifted players from Pakistan. The right-handed batter before making his senior debut already had made a reputation for being an accumulator of huge scores. In the two Under-19 World Cups he played, Azam was the top scorer for his side.

In 2016, one of the best purple patches witnessed by a Pakistani batter began with a hat-trick of tons against the West Indies. Centuries followed Azam in Australia, the West Indies, the UAE, and Zimbabwe. However, a minor slump during a five-match ODI series in New Zealand raised a few doubts. During the series, Azam only scored 31 runs including a golden duck. He reached 2000 runs against Hong Kong during the 2018 Asia Cup. 

4. Kevin Pietersen (45 innings)

No one in the English cricket team divided the public opinion like Kevin Pietersen did. On the field, he was an electric batter and could change matches in all the formats with his unorthodox style of play. Off the field, he was nothing short of a live-wire. Problems with senior members of the teams and even the coaches meant that Pietersen's career with England with a lot to be left fulfilled. Pietersen was the 4th fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. 

From his very first ODI series, the right-handed batter made himself an indispensable batter in the middle order. When England toured South Africa, Pietersen was going back to the country he had abandoned during his teenage. In the seven-match series, the English cricketer made three tons. He made a few low scores against Australia both at home and away from it. Pietersen made a few fifty-plus scores during a tour to Asia. He made hundreds against Australia and the West Indies during the 2007 ODI World Cup and reached the 2000-run milestone.

3. Zaheer Abbas (45 innings)

Don Bradman retired in 1948, 21 years before Zaheer Abbas made his debut. During that period, cricket saw many great players, but it was Abbas who was once nicknamed Asian Bradman. During his career, the Pakistani team did not play many ODI matches. From his debut on the 31st of August in 1974 to the 1st of October in 1978, Abbas only played eight ODI matches. 

The paucity of ODIs meant that the right-handed batter needed to make the most of the limited opportunities. That is exactly what he did as he became the 3rd fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. He held the record for being the fastest to score 2000 runs in an ODI for more than 27 years before it was broken by Hashim Amla. Abbas reached the milestone in 45 innings thanks to a hat-trick of centuries against India in Pakistan. During the India tour of Pakistan in 1982-83, Abbas scored 336 runs in four matches.

2. Hashim Amla (40 innings)

Hashim Amla is one of the best batters from South Africa. The right-handed opener is 2nd fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. He reached the milestone in only 40 innings which is five less than what Zaheer took. Amla holds multiple records in ODIs including being the fastest to score 7000 runs in the format. 

Amla’s career started with a few low scores and he did not reach 1000 ODI runs until his 24th innings. The South African was successful in the first two years as an ODI batter but could not rack up the big scores. He managed to score only a single century during this period. However, a tour to the West Indies resulted in a couple of centuries and a knock of 92 runs. Centuries started to rack up following the tour as he made triple-figure scores against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. With two fifty-plus scores against India, Amla reached the milestone of 2000 runs in ODIs.

1. Shubman Gill (38 innings)

Shubman Gill is the fastest to 2000 runs in ODI cricket. He reached the milestone in 38 innings. The right-handed batter is one of the best young talents going around currently. Gill was a potential replacement for Shikhar Dhawan to partner with Rohit Sharma. The right-handed batter has taken to the role of an opening batter perfectly. It does help that the 25-year-old had found success in age-level cricket as well as IPL. Gill in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup scored 372 runs in five innings at an average of 124. 

He made his debut almost a year later in the same country. The first two innings resulted in only 16 runs. But once he became a regular in the Indian team in 2022, Gill hit his purple patch. The opening batter scored centuries and double-centuries consistently as he became one of the best batters in the country. A viral infection of Dengue left him out of the Indian side for the first two matches. He bounced back with a fifty against Bangladesh and followed it up with a knock of 26 runs to reach 2000 runs.

Fastest 2000 ODI Runs by Indian Players

Shubman Gill is the fastest Indian batter to score 2000 runs in ODIs. He reached the milestone in only 38 innings. He is followed by Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer on the list who took 48 and 49 innings respectively to reach the milestone. The list also includes some of the former Indian skippers like Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, and Virat Kohli.