Rohit Sharma on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's massive record as opener

India captain Rohit Sharma is on the verge of breaking the record of the great Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit can achieve the milestone in India's second ODI against England to be played on February 9 in Cuttack.

Currently, Rohit Sharma hasn't been in great form with the bat but he continues to have a stellar record in international cricket across formats. The 38-year-old failed to trouble the scorers much in the first ODI but will be aiming to gain form in the next game.

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Rohit Sharma on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's massive record

Rohit Sharma is just 50 runs behind Sachin Tendulkar in terms of the total runs scored in international cricket as an opener. Tendulkar is currently second on the list of most runs scored by an Indian opener in international cricket, just behind Virender Sehwag.

Rohit has scored 15285 runs from 342 matches as an opener so far. Meanwhile, Tendulkar has scored 15335 runs from 346 matches while batting in the top two. Sehwag has scored 15758 runs in 321 matches at an average of 41.90 and leads this elite list.

While Rohit is not much behind Tendulkar, he is less than 500 runs behind Sehwag in this list. The 38-year-old is likely to break his record in the upcoming matches which will make him the most prolific Indian opener ever.

Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya leads the overall list with 19298 runs in 506 matches. Chris Gayle and David Warner complete the top three. All these players have made massive contributions to their respective teams in international cricket.

List of most runs as an opener in international cricket

1. Sanath Jayasuriya - 19298 runs from 506 matches
2. Chris Gayle - 18867 runs from 441 matches
3. David Warner - 18744 runs from 374 matches
4. Graeme Smith - 16950 runs from 342 matches
5. Desmond Haynes - 16120 runs from 354 matches
6. Virender Sehwag - 16119 runs from 332 matches
7. Sachin Tendulkar - 15335 runs from 346 matches
8. Rohit Sharma - 15285 runs from 342 matches

The list contains plenty of legends and Rohit has made his way into it after years of hard work and excellence. Interestingly, the top four players in this list are all left-handers while the next four are right-handers.

Rohit Sharma aims to regain form

It is likely that the Indian captain won't be thinking of breaking the record but would be instead aiming to get back amongst the runs. The 38-year-old opener scored just 2 off 7 balls in the first match played in Nagpur.

Rohit is struggling for runs for quite some time now. He endured a poor Test season at home and had another disappointing outing in the Test series against Australia. He was expected to be back in form in his favorite format but failed to score big in the first ODI as well.

Rohit will be looking to score runs in Cuttack ODI as he aims to return to form soon. Not only just him, but the other senior batter Virat Kohli is also likely to be back after missing the first match due to injury.