Here’s a list of the top 5 run scorers of the year, with respect to runs scored:
#1 Virat Kohli: 1,460 runs
Indian captain Virat Kohli is the top scorer in ODIs in this calendar year despite being rested for the three match ODI series against Sri Lanka towards the end of the year!
There was no stopping Virat Kohli this year in which he amassed a total of 1,460 runs in 26 ODIs at an average of 76.84. He has hit 6 centuries this year, to go with 7 fifties. 13 fifty-plus scores for Kohli are the most for him in a single calendar year.
Virat Kohli’s 6 centuries are most for any player in this calendar year and his 1,460 runs this year are the 11th most that a batsman has achieved in a single calendar year. Sachin Tendulkar’s 1,894 runs in the year 1998 is the most for any player in a year.
#2 Rohit Sharma: 1,293 runs
This has been an incredible year for Rohit Sharma! Third double century in ODIs, joint fastest century in T20Is and a century in the longest format as well!
This is the second time Rohit Sharma has scored over 1,000 runs in a calendar year; the first instance was in 2013 in which he scored 1,196 runs.
| Runs | Balls Faced | 4s / 6s | Against | Venue | Year |
| 209 | 158 | 12 / 16 | Australia | Bengaluru | 2013 |
| 264 | 173 | 33 / 9 | Sri Lanka | Kolkata | 2014 |
| 208* | 153 | 13 / 12 | Sri Lanka | Mohali | 2017 |
#3 Upul Tharanga: 1,011 runs
Tharanga is the first Sri Lankan to score over 1,000 runs in ODIs in a calendar year since Dilshan’s 1,207 runs in 2015. While Sri Lanka have had a horrible year in international cricket, Tharanga has enjoyed with the bat, personally.
Tharanga has scored 1,011 runs in ODIs in 2017 at an average of 48.14 with 2 centuries and 6 half-centuries. Mathews, with a batting average of 63.66, is the only Sri Lankan to average more with the bat than Tharanga in ODIs in 2017.
Tharanga’s 8 fifty-plus scores in ODIs in 2017 are the second most for him in a calendar year. He scored 9 fifty-plus scores in the year 2006!
#4 Joe Root: 983 runs
Joe Root has scored 983 runs at an average of 70.21 with 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries. Most runs scored, best batting average and most fifty-plus scores for Root in a single calendar year!
Root finished the year 2017 with a career batting average of 50.00. There is a certain improvement in this area as compared to his batting average of 45.71 at the end of 2016!
#5 Ross Taylor: 968 runs
Ross Taylor has scored 968 runs at an average of 60.50 with 2 hundreds and 7 half-centuries. Ross made his ODI debut way back in 2006 and only once he has crossed 1,000 runs in this format – 1,046 runs in 2005!
Without much show and much attention drawn towards him in 2017, he has managed to climb up to #5 on this list!
| Player | Innings | Runs | Best Score | Average | 100s / 50s |
| Virat Kohli (Ind) | 26 | 1460 | 131 | 76.84 | 6 / 7 |
| Rohit Sharma (Ind) | 21 | 1293 | 208* | 71.83 | 6 / 5 |
| Upul Tharanga (SL) | 25 | 1011 | 119 | 48.14 | 2 / 6 |
| Joe Root (Eng) | 18 | 983 | 133* | 70.21 | 2 / 7 |
| Ross Taylor (NZ) | 20 | 968 | 107 | 60.50 | 2 / 7 |
