Indian cricket team legend Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for Rohit Sharma after the veteran batter slammed a brilliant century to guide his team to victory over Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup 2023 on Wednesday. Rohit failed to score big against Australia in the tournament opener but the India skipper was in fine form against Afghanistan as he went on to score 131 off 84 deliveries. Gavaskar pointed out that Rohit has missed out on a number of centuries in the recent past and it was mainly down to his aggressive demeanor that is useful for the team. However, ahead of the crucial clash against Pakistan, a dominant century will do a world of good for the Indian cricket team star.
“I’m very happy that he got a hundred because he missed out on a lot of hundreds. With him, he is a risk taker. And therefore sometimes, what happens is, in the 60s, 70s – look at the number of times – where he got the team off to a flying start with half-centuries. But he wants to carry on in the same way because it benefits the team. For example, today, you get that (run rate of) 8 runs per over,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“The strike rate, it helps your net run rate. Who knows what’s gonna happen? After another 5-6 matches. You might need those decimal points to qualify. So clearly, he might have missed out on a few hundred, but he entertained all of us. And today was another special occasion. Some of the sixes that he hit, are just unbelievable,” the legendary batter continued.
Gavaskar also namedropped Virender Sehwag when praising Rohit Sharma and drew a comparison between the two openers in the way they approach their innings.
“Every century of his is a delight to watch. Because there is that ease with which he seems to be caressing the ball when he is hitting the ball along the ground. Very few batters have the ability to pull, off the front foot that he does. The same thing with Virender Sehwag, Viru was also similar. Opening batter, goes bang-bang and scores 60s-70s, 80s,” he explained.
“And look, we as cricket fans, lovers of batting, want them to carry on. So when they don’t. Then we sometimes get very upset. Like what kind of shot you have played. But they still score 60,70,80s. But we want them to go on and score a hundred. Happy that after January, he has got a hundred. Because this is what India needs, India needs a start from their skipper. The kind of flying start that is given, because that propels a team to a big score,” Gavaskar concluded.
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