Follow UsWhile Virat Kohli is a certified red-ball genius, Rohit Sharma’s legacy in the longest format isn’t on the same page. The 36-year-old Kohli finished his Test career with 9230 runs, with hundreds in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England, and established his special place in the great game.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Rohit has just one century in SENA countries, and most of his Test hundreds have come at home, where he has scored 2535 runs, averaging 51.73, smashing ten centuries in total. While people often put them on the same pedestal, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar refused to do so.
“We even have a term for them, RoKo. I can understand it in white-ball cricket; there’s some comparison, and they’re comparable players,” Manjrekar said on Instagram.
“Although there’s an argument there as well, but that’s for a later time. When it comes to red-ball cricket, there’s absolutely no comparison between the two. And I will never ever put them in the same bracket. Just to give you some numbers, so you don’t have to take my word for it.”
“When it comes to SENA countries, the true test of a batter, Virat Kohli has got 12 hundreds. 30 Test 100s as well. Rohit Sharma in SENA countries, just the one against England at Oval 2021. He’s played over 100 innings, just one hundred in SENA countries. And the average now is 40.”
‘Rohit’s average would have dropped to 30’
Rohit retired at the age of 38, with an average of 40.57, and was a total no-show in his last Test series Down Under, where he averaged just 6.20.
Even before that series, the right-hander was horrible at home, averaging 15.16 against New Zealand across the three Tests and 10.50 against Bangladesh.
“And I dare say, had he continued playing or had he gone to England, that average would have dropped in the 30s. I can’t be absolutely sure, but that would be my educated guess,” Manjrekar said.
“So, when it comes to Test cricket, please, red-ball cricket, Virat Kohli is in a different league when you compare him with Rohit Sharma. This comparison in red-ball cricket between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and putting them in the same bracket, I say, Roko, stop that.”