Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has stirred a debate by saying that Rohit Sharma doesn’t feature among the all-time Indian batting greats.
Not the one to mince his words, Manjrekar opined that Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Virat Kohli are included in this elite list, but Rohit falls short of this category.
“Rohit Sharma does not fit in the all-time Indian batting great list because we’re talking about legends like Gavaskar (Sunil), Tendulkar (Sachin), Dravid (Rahul), and Virat (Kohli). Rohit does not quite make it there," Manjrekar said while speaking on “The Great Indian Cricket Show" on Doordarshan.
However, Manjrekar hailed Rohit as a selfless cricketer. He highlighted the importance of selflessness and captaincy in one-day cricket.
“But if you look at one-day cricket, selflessness, or captainship, then you have to mention Rohit Sharma. Especially after the 2023 World Cup, the love people have for him is on another level. People saw that he was never thinking about himself; he was willing to sacrifice his own interests for the team’s advantage. That’s his real speciality. His easy domination in limited-overs cricket was always pleasing, almost making 300 runs in one ODI innings. But when you talk of an all-time Indian Batting Great, Test cricket holds more weightage, I don’t think he made a big impact in that format,” Manjrekar explained.
Rohit Sharma is widely regarded as one of the greatest white-ball cricketers India has produced. He has amassed 11,168 runs in 273 ODIs at an average of 48.76, including three double centuries.
Sharma’s captaincy brought some significant laurels to India. Under his leadership, the Indian team won two Asia Cup titles and a couple of ICC trophies -- T20 World Cup 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025.
Rohit ended his T20I career as the format's highest scorer, scoring 4231 runs in 159 matches. He also holds the record for the most centuries in T20Is, with five to his name.
Rohit finished his Test career with 4,301 runs from 67 matches at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties. He led India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing nine games.
(With ANI Inputs)
