Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Ahkhar hailed Rohit Sharma and went to the extent of saying his technique is much better than legendary India opener Virender Sehwag. Rohit was at his majestic best in the recently-concluded first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam and his twin centuries fired India to a comprehensive win over the Proteas.
Following Rohit’s heroics, Akhtar lauded the current India opener and compared him with Sehwag, who was regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen ever to grace the game. Ahkhar stated Rohit always wanted to be specialist batsmen across formats for India and he seems to have finally nailed his spot in the longest format after his performance in Vizag.
“Rohit Sharma has a much better technique than Virender Sehwag. Sehwag just had a will and aggressive mindset to hit shots all across the park,” Ahkhar said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
“He (Rohit Sharma) has got great timing, a variety of shots and elegance. Earlier, he had less passion for Tests as he wanted to be a specialist batsman for all different formats. Now you an see when Rohit put this thought out of his mind, he scored a century,” the former pacer added.
The speedster also revealed he noticed Rohit’s true potential way back in 2013 and that is when he decided to give him a new name.
“I had asked Rohit to add a G, for Great, before his name and play with a mindset that he is the best batsman in India,” the former Pakistan cricketer said.
Rohit combined with double-centurion Mayank Agarwal to post a record 317-run stand for the first wicket in India’s first innings as the hosts amassed 502 runs on the board. Then, in the second essay, Rohit smashed 127 runs to become the first cricketer ever to score two centuries in a Test on opening debut.
Courtesy of Rohit’s show, India thumped South Africa by 203 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second Test will be played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune starting Thursday.
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