New Delhi [India], September 9 : Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar dropped a bombshell as he claimed that India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma doesn't feature in the list of all-time Indian batting greats.
Manjrekar's comments suggest that India's all-time great ODI batters include legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Virat Kohli, but Rohit Sharma doesn't quite fit into this elite category in his opinion.
Speaking on ''The Great Indian Cricket Show'' on Doordarshan, Sanjay Manjrekar said, "Rohit Sharma does not fit in the All-Time Indian Batting Great list because we're talking about legends like Gavaskar (Sunil), Tendulkar (Sachin), Dravid (Rahul), and Virat (Kohli). Rohit does not quite make it there."
However, Manjrekar also called the Hitman a selfless cricketer and said that if you look at one-day cricket, selflessness, or captainship, then you have to mention Rohit Sharma.
The Hitman during the 50-over World Cups hits differently, literally. There are very few batters as threatening as Rohit during an ODI WC. He is India's third-highest and overall fourth-highest run-getter in WC history, with 1,575 runs in 28 matches at an average of 60.57, seven centuries and six fifties.
His best score is 140. Rohit holds the record for the most centuries during a single World Cup, scoring five during the 2019 World Cup in the UK, where he amassed a chart-topping 648 runs in nine matches with an average of 81.00.
In the very next World Cup at home, Rohit's consistency with attacking intent, emerging as the second-highest run-getter with 597 runs in 11 matches at an average of 54.27, striking at a massive strike rate over 125, with a century and three fifties.
"But if you look at one-day cricket, selflessness, or captainship, then you have to mention Rohit Sharma. Especially after the 2023 World Cup, the love people have for him is on another level. People saw that he was never thinking about himself; he was willing to sacrifice his own interests for the team's advantage. That's his real speciality. His easy domination in limited-overs cricket was always pleasing, almost making 300 runs in one ODI innings. But when you talk of an all-time Indian Batting Great, Test cricket holds more weightage, I don't think he made a big impact in that format," he concluded.
The Hitman, who retired from Test cricket in May earlier this year and from the shortest format of the game after Team India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June, is now only active in the 50-over format.
Rohit Sharma is India's fourth-highest International run scorer (In all formats combined) with 19,700 runs.
In 273 ODIs and 265 innings, he has made 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76 with 32 centuries and 58 fifties. His best score in ODIs is 264. He is the only batter with three ODI double tons.
The 38-year-old embarked on a voyage and represented India in 67 Tests, striking 4,301 runs from his bat at an average of 40.57, with 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries. Rohit's best was up for display when he dazzled with a knock of 212 during a home series against South Africa in 2019.
Rohit is the leading run scorer in the shortest format, with 4,231 runs in 159 matches and 151 innings at an average of 32.05, and a strike rate of 140.89. He has also scored five centuries, most by a batter in the format and 32 half-centuries, with the best individual score of 121*.
During his 17-year-long T20I career, Rohit hit a total of 205 sixes, the most by a batter. He still remains the only batter to have hit 200 or more sixes in the shortest format.
He also holds the record for the fastest T20I century for India, in just 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017, slamming 118 in 43 balls, with 12 fours and 10 sixes.