World Cup is the biggest platform for the cricketers to shine and create the performances that can result in a World Cup victory. Australia possesses the best record in the ODI World Cup history, with five titles- in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015. Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, and Michael Clarke were the winning captains for Australia in these editions of the World Cup. West Indies were the triumphant side in the first two editions in 1975 and 1979, India won in 1983 and 2011, Pakistan in 1992, Sri Lanka in 1996, and England in 2019. Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Clive Lloyd, MS Dhoni, Eoin Morgan, and Arjuna Ranatunga had won the World Cup titles as the captain. We will look at the top ten cricketers with the most appearances in the 50-over World Cup below.
1. Ricky Ponting
The most successful captain of the Australian cricket team is Ricky Ponting. Punter helped Australia win the two 50-over World Cups consecutively in 2003 and 2007 under his leadership. Ponting’s first World Cup match came in 1996 and the last in 2011. He has played the highest ODI World Cup matches in its history- 46 and scored 1743 runs at an average of 45.86 with five centuries and the best score of an unbeaten 140.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
The master blaster Sachin Tendulkar comes at the second position on this list. The jersey number ten cricketer played 45 World Cup matches starting from 1992 and scored 2278 runs at an average of 57 with six centuries and the highest score of 152. The legendary Indian batter showed his class in bowling too, with eight wickets in the World Cup history. He played his last World Cup game in the final of the 2011 World Cup against Sri Lanka, where India emerged as the winning team.
3. Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene is the legendary Sri Lankan batter who played his first World Cup match in 1999, and his final game came in the 2015 edition. Jayawardene was a part of 40 World Cup matches and scored 1100 runs at an average of 35 with the help of four centuries and the best performance of an unbeaten 115. Jayawardene also picked up two wickets in his ODI World Cup career.
4. Muttiah Muralitharan
The best off-spin bowler of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan made his first World Cup appearance in the 1996 edition, in which his team Sri Lanka emerged as the winner and played his last World Cup game in 2011. Overall, he appeared in 40 ODI matches in the World Cup and took 68 wickets at an average of 19.63, with the best figures of 4/19.
5. Glenn McGrath
The legendary pace bowler from Australia McGrath appeared in 39 World Cup matches, starting from 1996, and picked up 71 wickets, the highest in the World Cup history at an average of 18 and two five-wicket hauls with the best bowling figures of 7/15. The Pigeon made his last appearance for Australia in the 2007 World Cup, where he announced his retirement from international cricket.
6. Sanath Jayasuriya
Jayasuriya was known as the most destructive batter of his time. The Sri Lankan great played his first World Cup game in 1992 and his last game in 2007. Overall, Jayasuriya appeared in 38 World Cup matches and scored 1165 runs at an average of 34 with the help of three centuries and the highest score of 120. Sanath picked up 27 wickets at a bowling average of 39 and the best bowling figures of 3/12.
7. Wasim Akram
The greatest left-arm seam bowler in cricket history appeared in 38 World Cup matches for Pakistan starting from the 1987 edition and took 55 wickets at a bowling average of 23 and a five-wicket haul, with the best bowling figures of 5/28. Wasim scored 426 runs with the highest score of 43 and played his final World Cup game in 2003.
8. Kumar Sangakkara
The left-handed Sri Lankan batter played his final ODI game in the 2015 World Cup. It was a memorable World Cup for Sanga, as he scored four consecutive centuries in the group stage matches. Overall, Sanga played 37 World Cup matches starting from 2003 and scored 1532 runs at an average of 46 with five centuries and the best of 124. He collected 54 dismissals behind the stumps, including 41 catches and 13 stumpings.
9. Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis is the best all-rounder cricket have ever produced. The South African legend made his first World Cup appearance in the 1996 edition and the last in the 2011 World Cup. Kallis played 36 World Cup games and scored 1148 runs at an average of 45 and one century with the best score of an unbeaten 128. The all-rounder picked up 21 wickets in his ODI World Cup career at a bowling average of 43 with the best figures of 3/26.
10. Aravinda De Silva
Aravinda de Silva made his first ODI World Cup appearance in 1987 and played 35 matches until the 2003 edition. His innings of an unbeaten 107 in the 1996 World Cup final were instrumental in guiding Sri Lanka to win their first World Cup title. Aravinda scored 1064 runs at an average of 36 with the help of two centuries and the highest score of 145. He also took 16 wickets in his World Cup career with the best bowling figures of 3/42.
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Chairman of Sri Lanka cricket technical committee Aravinda de Silva speaks during a press conference in Colombo on March 25, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP) (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)[/caption]
