All-Time Best XI of Game Changers in ODI Cricket

12. Michael Bevan (Australia)

The former legendary Australian batter can undoubtedly be called the ‘King of finishers'. Before MS Dhoni arrived on the international stage, Michael Bevan who often batted in high-pressure situations and with the tailenders, showed immense calmness and an easy method of getting the better of the opposition. Due to modern-age cricket, the legendary figure often gets overshadowed and his contribution in putting a price on his wicket and revolutionizing the art of chasing and finishing the game goes unnoticed.

During his stellar career, Michael Bevan featured in 232 ODIs for Australia. How good a batter was he can be understood by the fact that the quality of bowlers in those days was arguably much superior in terms of skills and game awareness. As a result, finishing games was way more daunting. Despite that Bevan went on to score close to 7,000 runs in the ODIs with six centuries and 46 fifties to his name. During his ODI journey, the southpaw maintained a stupendous average of 53.58. The magnitude of his contribution to ODI cricket can be understood by the fact that Australia completed successful run chases a whopping 45 times. Incredibly enough, out of them, Bevan remained unbeaten on 25 occasions for a winning cause.