Former India captain Rohit Sharma continued his good form with the bat in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies. The 39-year-old began the series with a knock of 32 runs and amassed 101 off 76 balls in the second fixture. It was his 35th ton in the fifty-over format.
Rohit also became the seventh player in ODI cricket to score 12,000 runs. In the final game of the series on Saturday, the batter accumulated 92 runs. His knock came off 85 balls with 10 boundaries and three sixes. During the course of the knock, Sharma also became the fastest batter to post 10,000 runs as an opening batter in the format.
Despite his 92, legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar, who was part of the commentary panel, wasn’t happy. “I was disappointed with Rohit for getting out on 92 because he didn’t get a century and might quit the game after the 2027 ODI World Cup. When he decides to call it a day, Iam hoping Rohit has more centuries than his age.”
The 92 on Saturday was the sixth time that the former Mumbai Indians skipper was out in the 90s. “If he had scored a century, it would have been his 36th. For me, it is special when a player’s centuries outnumber his age at the time of retirement from the sport,” he added.
“It also shows the legacy and the kind of standard they have set during their playing days, which is why I want Rohit to reach that mark. In my last year of international cricket, Iwanted to get as many Test tons as my age, but got out in the 90s a few times. If I had gotten those centuries, it would have matched my retirement age, which was 38.”
Indian legend reveals big difference in Rohit’s batting
In the last few months, the current Indian ODI opening batter has shown a tendency to take his time and settle himself before going for his shots. This is a marked difference from the way he batted leading up to the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Rohit went after the bowlers right from the word go.
“A slight change in batting template can be seen from what Sharma himself set as the captain of the side during the 2023 World Cup. From attacking the bowlers from the first ball without the thought of losing his wicket, he has now come to terms with the fact that his wicket is very valuable.”