Indian cricket has been blessed with some of the finest players the world has seen. However, not many have been able to cement their place in the role of a ‘finisher’ like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. However, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that in the end overs, it’s not Dhoni who has been described as a ‘captain’s nightmare’ by Virat Kohli. To the surprise of many the name that Kohli picked on being asked by Ashwin was that of the team’s current captain Rohit Sharma.
In a chat on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed an intriguing story from the past where he and Kohli had a chat. Ashwin brought up the topic as he explained how dangerous a batter Rohit is.
“5-6 years back, Virat Kohli and I had a discussion while Rohit was batting. I don’t remember which match it was. Seeing Rohit bat, I was thinking, “Where do you even bowl to him? If Rohit is set after 15-20 overs, you wouldn’t know where to bowl to him.
“Virat asked me, “Do you know who is a captain’s nightmare at the death? I asked, “Is it Dhoni?” Kohli was like, “No, it is Rohit.” When I asked him why, he said you won’t know where to bowl,” Ashwin revealed.
It has to be noted that Rohit started off his India career as a middle-order batter but was made to open the innings by the then captain MS Dhoni. Since, then, the Hitman hasn’t looked back and cemented his spot in the world as one of the most fierce opening batters.
Continuing the topic, Ashwin explained how difficult it is to bowl to Rohit in the death overs as he has all the shots in his arsenal.
“If Rohit Sharma is batting at the end of the 16th over in a T20, where will you bowl? He has got all the shots in the book and once he played an extraordinary knock in Chinnaswamy stadium that Kohli can never forget, it seems. Rohit Sharma has got all the shots, and he makes it look so effortless and easy,” said the veteran India off-spinner.
There have been talks of Rohit demoting himself in the batting order in an attempt to resolve India’s No. 4 crisis. While KL Rahul has stepped up and taken that role effortlessly, it would be interesting to see if there’s a change in strategy during the ODI World Cup that begins next month.
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