5 Current Batsmen Who Can Break AB de Villiers' Record Of The Fastest ODI Century

South African cricketer, AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all formats of the game on Friday. With that, he also ended his 14-year long association with the Indian Premier League. AB de Villiers will go down in history as one of the greatest batsmen of his era. In his illustrious cricketing career, he scored 8765 runs in 114 Tests and 9577 runs in 228 ODIs. He averages over 50 in both formats.

Besides, he holds a remarkable record in the Indian Premier League. He is currently the sixth-highest run-scorer in IPL, having managed to score 5162 runs in 184 matches at an average of 39.70.

During his career, AB de Villiers broke a number of international records. While he holds a lot of records to his name but the one which perhaps stands out is the fastest century in one-day internationals.

AB de Villiers currently holds the record for hitting the fastest century in ODI cricket. He achieved the feat against West Indies in the second of the five-match series in 2015. He brought up his century in just 31 balls, surpassing Corey Anderson’s record of 36-ball 100.

The record stands till date. No other player has managed to break it thus far. However, it is also true that records are made to be broken. Given how the game has changed with the evolution of T20 cricket, AB de Villiers’ record of the fastest century could be broken in the coming years. Here’s a look at five players who can break AB de Villiers’ record of the fastest ODI century.

5 Current Batsmen Who Can Break AB de Villiers’ Record of The Fastest ODI Century

1. Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler is hailed as one of the most destructive batsmen in white-ball cricket. He was nothing short of outstanding in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021. Jos Buttler played some jaw-dropping knocks and finished the tournament as the fourth-highest run-scorer.

For the unversed, Jos Buttler was the only batsman who scored a century in the tournament. Despite struggling for the first half of his innings, Buttler went on to score a century in 61 balls.

Buttler has the ability to take on the bowlers right from the onset of his innings and is one of the few active cricketers who can break AB de Villiers’ record of fastest hundred in ODI cricket. Jos Buttler currently has 9 centuries and 20 half-centuries to his name.

2. Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran can take the game away in a matter of a few overs if gets going. When on song, he can break any record in international cricket. Given how he approaches his innings in white-ball cricket, one shouldn’t get surprised if one day he breaks AB de Villiers’ record of the fastest ODI century.

Nicholas Pooran currently has one century to his name in white-ball cricket. He scored 104 runs against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup 2019, helping the team put on a gigantic 338-run total. West Indies won that game by 23 runs.

3. Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell is another destructive batsman, who has the ability to break AB de Villiers’ record of fastest century in ODIs. When he gets going, there are only a few who looks better with the bat in hand. With an array of shots in his armoury, Maxwell knows how to disrupt a bowler’s line and lengths.

Glenn Maxwell isn’t the most consistent with the bat but takes the game away from the opposition on the given day. Maxwell has played some outstanding match-winning knocks under pressure in his career so far and is likely to play a lot more in the coming years.

The Australian cricketer knows only one way to play the game, i.e., to attack the opposition. There could be a day in the future when Maxwell goes on to play one of the most destructive knocks in one-day internationals and also break AB de Villiers’ record of fastest century in ODIs in the process.

4. Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow has played enough knocks with the bat to throw him in the category of the most destructive batsmen in white-ball cricket. He is one of the hardest hitters in the game and has the ability to play his shots right from the first ball itself.

He bats in the middle-order for England in the one-day internationals and is a perfect bet to capitalize on the starts given by the openers. Jonny Bairstow is one of the ideal batsmen to send in the middle when there is a need to just go out and hit every ball out of the park.

In such a situation, Bairstow can be extremely daunting for the opposition. And, if such a situation does arise in the future, Bairstow can well break AB de Villiers’ record of fastest century in international cricket.

Jonny Bairstow currently has 11 centuries in 89 one-day internationals.

5. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is perhaps the only active Indian cricket who can break AB de Villiers’ record of fastest century in one-day internationals. Rohit Sharma loves to make records, be it any format of the game. His ability to convert the fifties into hundreds and a century into a double century aren’t unknown to world cricket. He is the only cricketer in world cricket to have scored three double-centuries in one-day internationals.

There is no point denying the fact that he has the ability to score the fastest century in world cricket. On his day, he can demolish any team in any format. Not very long ago, Rohit Sharma hit 5 centuries in the ICC 2019 World Cup. He singlehandedly took the team into the semi-final of the tournament.

If a situation arises in the future when the Indian opener needs to go all guns blazing right from the word go, then we could see Rohit Sharma notching the fastest century in one-day internationals.

Rohit Sharma currently has 29 centuries and 43 half-centuries to his name in one-day internationals.