Kevin Pietersen, former England captain, has praised the intimidating aura that India captain Rohit Sharma possesses by giving an example of the current England team players starting at him when he came out to bat in the first ODI in Nagpur on February 6.

India was asked to chase 248 runs by Jos Buttler and his men in the Nagpur ODI, which the home side successfully achieved thanks to 87 by Shubman Gill, 59 by Shreyas Iyer and 52 by Axar Patel.

Rohit Sharma couldn’t do much in the chase, getting out for 2 runs early on itself. But Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, who was in Nagpur for the first ODI between Rohit and Jos Buttler's teams, summed up the 'aura' of Rohit after he witnessed the England team's reaction to an incident.

In a post-match interview, Pietersen emphasized Rohit's command of attention and respect from both Team India fans and opponents.

"Honestly, it's unbelievable. Rohit Sharma exits the dressing room, and the crowd goes absolutely mental. It's remarkable how big stars these guys are. That's why he re-emphasized the point; enjoy these stars while they are around. Look at the emotions in the entire stadium when a guy like Rohit Sharma walks down those steps," Pietersen said on Star Sports.

Pietersen described an incident in which the supporters cheered as Rohit stepped out of the changing room, causing even the England squad to stand up and take note.

"Can I tell you something. When Rohit Sharma walked down, we had visuals of the England dressing room. When the whole crowd went up, all of the England team started staring at him. That's intimidating, that's aura, and that's something he created; not because he's Rohit Sharma, but because of the runs he scored, because of his average," he added.

Rohit Sharma will need to get some runs under his belt in the remaining two ODIs as the next assignment for India after this series will be the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.