Rohit Sharma is arguably the most exceptional timer of the cricket ball. He is the only player to have smashed more than one One-Day International (ODI) double century. The Indian deputy has passed the 200-mark on three separate occasions. Rohit’s 264 against Sri Lanka in November 2014 is still the record for highest individual score in the format.
In fact, Rohit averages the most runs per innings after scoring a ton as compared to any other batsman in ODI cricket. To discuss Rohit’s dominance in ODI format, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull and legendary Australian women player Lisa Sthalekar participated in ICC’s ‘Cricket Inside Out’ in which they talked about the rise of Rohit in ODIs.
Simon opined that Rohit doesn’t get trapped when he reaches the 90s in ODI format and that itself makes him a great player.
“His ability to increase his strike-rate past that, even it’s past 60, 70, 80… You don’t see Rohit Sharma getting stuck in the 90’s very often and labouring through the 90’s either. He is just a phenomenal player,” said Simon.
The cricketer-turned-commentator even rated Rohit as a better one-day opener than India’s iconic player Sachin Tendulkar. He stated Rohit’s numbers are better than Sachin so he’d be the first name in his list of openers.
“Well, I personally have copped flak in India because I’ve said he’s the No.1, he’s the first opener picked in an all-time Indian side, hands down. I’m sorry, but you look at the stats, look at the numbers. He averages 49..strike rate of 88. Sachin averages 44 with a strike-rate of 86, I think, across the careers.”
“So, numbers-wise, Rohit’s numbers are phenomenal, they are better than Sachin’s, that’s why to me he’s the first name on the list, and that’s only because you start at No.1, there’s Kohli on the list, Dhoni’s on the list as you get further down the order.”
Simon also expressed that he loves watching Rohit bat. He termed the Nagpur-born batsman as a phenomenal cricketer.
“He (Rohit) is incredible, I love watching him play, he does it with ease, and I’m not sure why or how those numbers increase so dramatically in excess of that 70, 80, 100 marks, but they just do, and I love watching him play.”
The 50-year-old also articulated that without Rohit one couldn’t imagine a World XI right now. He said that Rohit’s numbers are something which can’t be ignored at all so it would be difficult to leave him out if one is picking a World XI of the 50-over format.
“I think he’d make a world XI of One-Day cricket, I honestly do. When you look at those numbers, you look at an opening batsman; hundreds scored, average, strike-rate, longevity of career. I’d find it very difficult to leave him out of a World XI in one-day international cricket,” concluded Simon.
