Although often hailed as a game of gut-wrenching adrenaline and fuming passion, the game of cricket also equally involves technical precision and correct batting orders for a team to perform well on the ground. Whether a player gets to play as the opener, in the top order or in the middle order, plays a crucial role in building the right overall momentum for the team. The batting orders play a pivotal role in deciding the fate of a cricketer in international cricket and many of the most prominent names, including Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith, have witnessed an incredible surge in their hard-hitting potential once their batting orders were shifted. A majority of the finest cricket coaches and skippers believe that half of the innings is already won if they can crack the batting order of their team—that’s how crucial the batting order is if a team is in it to win it.
List of Cricketers Who Revived Their Careers By Changing Their Batting Order
Rohit Sharma
At the first spot on our list of top five cricketers who revived their international cricketing careers by making changes in their batting order, we have the iconic Indian international cricketer and skipper of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma who recently led the Indian side to an undefeated victory at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup without losing even a single match throughout the tournament. Do you know that Rohit Sharma wasn’t always designated to play for India in the top batting order? Well, during the initial years of his international cricketing career, Rohit Sharma played his innings in the middle-order and, due to a major lack of consistency, he struggled to be a mainstay in the Indian cricket team.
It was only during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2011 that the management decided to take the leap of faith and shifted Rohit Sharma to the opening position. Although the major decision didn’t have real immediate results and even attracted a lot of harsh criticism of the management, the 2013 ODI series against England proved to be a game changer for the Hitman as he scored a match-winning half-century for the Indian side. Rohit Sharma has been a mainstay for the top order of the Indian team ever since.
Steve Smith
At the second spot in our list of top five cricketers who revived their international cricketing careers by making changes in their batting order, we have Steve Smith, who made his debut for the Australian side in 2010 as a leg-spinner and a low-order batsman. Steve Smith massively failed to perform and struggled a lot in his initial years to book a permanent spot in the Australian national cricket squad.
The 2013 “India vs Australia” test series witnessed Steve Smith making a formidable comeback as the management shifted his position from the lower to the middle batting order. Steve Smith’s stellar 92* run inning garnered him immense praise and recognition from the fans of international cricket and that’s how the legendary Australian all-rounder was able to revive his international cricket career after switching his batting order.
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Sanath Jayasuriya
Next, at the third spot on our list of top five cricketers who revived their international cricketing careers by switching their batting order, we have former Sri-Lankan cricketer and skipper Sanath Teran Jayasuriya. Often hailed as one of the most reliable all-rounders, Sanath Jayasuriya made his international cricket debut for Sri Lanka in 1989 as a bowling all-rounder.
With time, the management of Sri Lankan cricket made a crucial call to shift Jayasuriya to the top-order of the team and, well, the rest is history. With his hard-hitting shots, Jayasuriya established himself as one of the greatest and most reliable batsmen for the Sri Lankan side in the top-order. Sanath Jayasuriya accumulated a total of 9,973* runs in the test format, 13,430* runs in the ODI format and 2,317* runs in the T20 internationals.
Shoaib Malik
One of the most popular former skippers of the Pakistan cricket team, Shoaib Malik, is at the fourth spot on our list of top five cricketers who revived their international cricketing careers by switching their batting order. Shoaib Malik made his debut for the Pakistan cricket team in 1999 as an off-spinner but struggled in the initial phase of his career to earn a permanent spot in the team.
It was only in 2002 when Shoaib Malik was pushed higher in the top-order that his cricketing trajectory witnessed a major boost. The year 2002, after Shoaib Malik’s batting-order was changed, proved to be the apex of his international cricketing career. Shoaib Malik played a total of twelve ODIs in 2002 alone and amassed a significant total of 369* runs, garnering him immense praise and recognition in the annals of international cricket.
Justin Langer
There’s no doubt about the fact that Justin Langer has proved himself to be one of the greatest openers in the Test cricket format for the Aussies. However, a major reason for his rise to prominence in international cricket lies in the batting order. During the initial phase of his test cricket journey, Justin Langer was positioned at No.3 until the 2001 Ashes Series. The management of the Australian national cricket team took a plunge and replaced the iconic Australian opener Michael Slater with Justin Langer in the first match of the series. Well, it proved to be a fate-changing masterstroke for the Australian cricketer, and he ended up scoring a century in the same match against England at the Oval.
Justin Langer officially announced his retirement in 2007 from international cricket and was hailed as one of the greatest and most-polished Australian international cricketers with a career total of 7,696* runs in the test format.
