Image: Sam Hain currently holds the record for the highest batting average in List A cricket / © Outlook India
In the Tri-Series game between India A and Afghanistan A, Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his good run with the bat. The opener scored 66 runs before his innings came to an end. It was not a century or a match-defining knock, but it added another useful score to a record that is becoming harder to ignore. With this innings, Gaikwad remains the batter with the highest average in List A cricket among players who have scored more than 5000 runs.
A few years ago, not many would have expected Gaikwad to be sitting above some of the biggest names in cricket history. Yet the numbers tell the story. He has scored 5227 runs and averages 59.39. That is currently the best figure on the list. His success has not come from one big season or a handful of huge scores. Instead, it has come from turning up regularly and making runs whenever opportunities have arisen. The 66 against Afghanistan A was another example of that habit.
Virat Kohli sits second with an average of 57.91. The gap is small, but what stands out is the mountain of runs next to his name. Kohli has scored 16447 List A runs, a number very few players have even come close to. Across different conditions, against different opponents, and over many years, he kept producing runs. That consistency helped him become one of the finest ODI batters of his generation. While Gaikwad currently leads the average chart, Kohli’s overall body of work remains remarkable.
Michael Bevan is third on the list with an average of 57.86 from 15103 runs. For many cricket fans, Bevan was the original master of the chase. Australia often looked to him when matches became tight, and more often than not, he delivered. His record has survived the arrival of several modern greats, which says plenty about how good he was. Decades after his peak years, his name is still near the top of the list.