There is no doubt that David Warner is a destructive batsman; however despite making his ODI debut 3 years before his Test debut, he was never the accomplished ODI opener and was more successful at test level.

That is quite ironic given his style of play, but his record shows how he excelled in tests and never really did as well in ODIs in the initial part of his career.

In 5 years, between his ODI debut in January 2009 till the end of 2014, Warner played 50 matches, in which he managed only 2 centuries. His average during this period was a meager 31.4.

That average was a good 17 runs below his test average.

He made his test debut in December 2011, and in his first three years of test cricket, he played 35 matches, scored 13 centuries, and averaged a healthy 48.1.

Warner was a nightmare for test bowlers.

He played test cricket the modern way, in aggressive fashion, and scored big for Australia.

But he never really replicated the same success in ODI cricket.

Till now.

Right now, Warner, is having his most prolific ODI summer ever. He has scored 5 centuries in his last 10 ODIs, which is the most centuries for an Australian batsman in an ODI season (equal with Matthew Hayden).

Warner started the year 2015 with his 3rd ODI century, and he has never looked back since.

In 42 ODIs since the start of 2015, Warner has amassed over 2,000 runs at a phenomenal average of 58.6.

He smashed 10 centuries during this period and 6 half centuries.

Warner is averaging almost double of what he did in his first 5 years of ODIs, in ODIs over the past 2 years.

He has taken his ODI average from 31.4 at the end of 2014 to just over 43.

His turnaround has been so awesome that he is the leading run scorer in all ODIs played in the past two years, since 1st January 2015.

No one has scored more runs or more centuries in ODIs than Warner has in the past two years; and only AB de Villiers has a higher average and strike rate than he does.

Truly phenomenal.

Since the start of 2010, Mohammad Hafeez has been Pakistan's most successful opener in ODIs. He has the most runs, the second best average (after Azhar Ali), and the second most 100s (after Ahmed Shehzad.


Based on this, Hafeez' inclusion in the side is a nobrainer. He should be opening for Pakistan if fit, no question about it.

And if you are going to question his ability outside Asia, then I guess do the same for the rest. Compare him to his peers, not Australians or Indians.

Having said that, Hafeez played only 4 ODIs in all of 2016, a year where Azhar Ali and Sharjeel Khan cemented their positions at the top of the order for Pakistan in ODIs.


Hafeez batted at number 3 in his 4 innings in 2016, something that he has done for some time now, and he has excelled at the position as well. He has been more successful at number 3 than while opening the innings in ODIs.

And in fact, Hafeez has been the most successful number 3 Pakistan has had in ODIs since 2010.


But the problem is, how can he come back into that position given what the fourth name in the above list achieved in the last ODI series Pakistan played.

Babar Azam's 3 consecutive centuries against the West Indies was a tremendous effort and it will be criminal to ask him to bat anywhere else.

So if Hafeez does not fit into the top 3, where does he fit?

With him bowling again his presence will be invaluable to the team, especially in the shorter formats; however the team management will need to rethink their strategy regarding his batting order.

With Azhar, Sharjeel, and Babar occupying the top 3 spots, my bet is that Hafeez will be utilized in the lower middle order. His aggression can be best suited to the latter stages of an innings.

There is no question that Hafeez deserves a place in the ODI squad. The only question is, where will he bat?