Rohit Sharma’s Test career will only grow while Mohammed Shami can be the king of reverse swing, feels former Pakistan speedster, Shoaib Akhtar.
Rohit scored twin centuries in his first Test as an opener, while Shami ran through the South African batting line-up in the second innings to propel India to a 203-run victory at Visakhapatnam.
“Rohit Sharma is hitting a hundred after hundred, and I have been saying that Rohit should be in the Indian Test team. Form here; he will become a great Test player. Rohit, the Test player, will grow bigger,” Akhtar said on his Youtube channel.
Akhtar said that he once advised Shami to try and become a tearaway pacer while also using the reverse swing as a lethal weapon.
“After India’s (50-over) World Cup disappointment, Shami called me up one day and said he was feeling sad that he could not do well for India. I told him not to lose heart but maintain fitness. The home series is coming, and you will do well, I said.
“I told Shami that I want him to become a tearaway pacer, running through batting line-ups. He has seam and swing; besides that, he has a reverse swing, which very few bowlers in the subcontinent have. I told him you could become king of reverse swing,” said Akhtar.
“Now, you see what he has done, he has got wickets from a docile pitch (in Visakhapatnam). I am very happy for him.”
The 44-year-old also revealed that no Pakistani pacer had sought his advice while Indian bowlers like Shami have been in constant touch with him to seek help regarding fast bowling.
“Sadly, our Pakistani fast bowlers don’t ask me how they can improve their bowling, but the Indian bowlers like Shami are doing that. It is a sad scenario as far as my country is a concern.”
He further opined that Virat Kohli is a ‘bowlers’ captain.
