Pakistani pacer Junaid Khan has labelled Rohit Sharma as the greatest Indian batter.© AFP
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are arguably two of the greatest batters of all time. Nearly every top batting record is held by the two India greats. In Test cricket, Tendulkar hold the record of scoring most number of centuries (51), while Kohli recently surpassed him to become the batter with the most number of tons in ODIs. Tendulkar is also the leading scorer in Tests and ODIs, while Kohli holds the same record in the shortest format of the game.
However, out-of-favour Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan has labelled Rohit Sharma as the greatest Indian batter.
When asked to choose either Tendulkar or Kohli as the greatest Indian batter, Junaid, instead, went for the current Indian team captain, Rohit.
“I am going to say Rohit Sharma (when asked who’s the better batter between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli). He has all kinds of shots in his arsenal. Virat is a great player. But the way Sachin batted in a different era, he would have scored more than 100 centuries in today’s time. Everybody calls Rohit ‘The Hitman’ because of his incredible 264. He has also scored multiple double hundreds (in ODIs). This is rare, because he has done it more than once. He has also hit the most number of sixes,” Junaid said on Nadir Ali Podcast.
After the T20 World Cup in 2022, Rohit had actually been reluctant to play the shortest format as he focused on 50-over cricket.
Earlier this week, Rohit’s request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26.
“Rohit has been offered T20 captaincy but he is in UK on a holiday and wants an extended break after four months of gruelling season till end of the World Cup. But as captain, he has the highest respect for the dressing room and if he agrees to lead India in T20 World Cup, he will lead,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
(With PTI Inputs)
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