If we keep the numbers aside from Rohit Sharma‘s batting, which is quite a task considering he is the only cricketer to hit multiple ODI double hundreds (three to be exact), has a world record highest score of 264, has four T20I centuries and is also the only cricketer in the planet to smash five hundreds in a single edition of an ODI World Cup. But suppose, we try hard to forget about them for a brief moment and just watch Rohit Sharma bat, chances are high we would still be mesmerised and compelled to become a fan. Such is the man’s class. The ease with which he deposits a 90m/h short-pitched delivery over the deep square leg boundary standing on the front foot or the way he just cuts a wide one behind the point fielder to collect boundaries as if they were daily wages are a treat to the eyes.
Because of his late rise in Test cricket, he is for some reason, still not mentioned in the same breath as Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson but the India captain is arguably a once-in-a-generation talent. In the last few years, Rohit’s batting has continued to grow from strength to strength but his physique has seen a lot of changes. To the naked eye, it doesn’t appear that he is as concerned as Virat Kohli would be about a few extra kilos. While it has never affected his batting or fielding but has definitely given content to the trolls and critics. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is neither of them. Well, not exactly. He may be slightly inclined to being a Rohit Sharma fan but he is definitely not ready to turn a blind eye toward his fitness.
The former opener’s statement comparing Rohit Sharma to South Africa legend AB de Villiers if he was even half as fit as Virat Kohli, attracted a lot of eyeballs. Butt, on Wednesday, tried to clarify his comments but maintained that if Rohit Sharma’s fitness was better then he perhaps could have ended up with five or six double hundreds by now.
“If you go back and watch the exact clip again, you will get to know. I don’t believe in comparisons. Somebody had talked about Babar and Rizwan, I don’t exactly remember the question but the intention behind my comment was to state that both of them (Babar and Rizwan) haven’t even played half the cricket of Rohit Sharma. So, there’s no comparison. But, if Rohit Sharma was half as fit as Kohli then would have been a class apart. He’s already outstanding. Matlab unke jo 2-3 200 hai ho sakta hai 5-6 hote. (The 2-3 double hundreds that he has would have been 5-6) That would have added another dimension to his quality,” Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Rohit is currently gearing up for the home series against Australia starting on September 20 followed by three more T20Is against South Africa beginning September 28. These six matches will be India’s last to finalise their best XI heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia slated to begin on October 16.
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