India captain Virat Kohli is arguably considered one of the best batsmen in world cricket at the moment. However, on Monday, former national selector and India batsman Sandeep Patil said that opener Rohit Sharma is a notch better than Kohli when it comes to batting in limited-overs cricket.
“Virat Kohli fans might not like it but I have to say Rohit Sharma is currently the better batsman,” said Patil told ABP News. “Virat is definitely a great batsman, no doubt about it. He is India’s best Test batsman but when it comes to limited overs cricket, Rohit is ahead of him,” he added.
And Patil has the numbers to back him as well. In 2017, Sharma has scored 1,460 runs in 26 one-day games at an average of 76.80, while Kohli has 1,293 runs in 21 matches at an average of 71.80.
In T20 internationals, the numbers favour also Sharma. In 2017, the opening batsman amassed 299 runs including a recent century against Sri Lanka, in 10 matches. Kohli scored 256 runs in eight matches. Sharma scored his runs at a staggering strike rate of 176, whereas Kohli’s was 152.
And with three double tons in one-day cricket to add, Patil’s statement can’t be statistically faulted.
“I’m sure Virat’s going to come back from [his] break and score lots of runs in South Africa but when we talk about limited-overs cricket this year, Rohit has been unbelievable,” Patil said. “People may say he has played more matches against Sri Lanka but so has Virat. Whether he is playing only as a batsman or as captain Rohit has proved he is best at the moment.”
