Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was really impressed with the captain Rohit Sharma’s cracking knock in the 9th match of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan.
The ‘Hitman’ entertained the crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium with his record-breaking century laced with some astounding sixes, which really impressed Gavaskar, as he gave Team India a flying start during their 8-wicket win over Afghanistan on October 11.
Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports: “I'm very happy that he got a hundred because he missed out on a lot of hundreds. With him, he is a risk taker. And therefore sometimes, what happens is, in the 60s, 70s - look at the number of times - where he got the team off to a flying start with half-centuries. But he wants to carry on in the same way because it benefits the team.”
Explaining the importance of the strike rate: Gavaskar said: “For example, today, you get that (run rate of) 8 runs per over. The strike rate, it helps your net run rate. Who knows what's gonna happen? After another 5-6 matches. You might need those decimal points to qualify.”
He continued, “So clearly, he might have missed out on a few hundreds, but he entertained all of us. And today was another special occasion. Some of the sixes that he hit, are just unbelievable.”
Gavaskar also feels Rohit and the former explosive opener Virender Sehwag belong to the same league, as both are a delight to watch with the bat for the fans.
He signed off by saying, “Every century of his is a delight to watch. Because there is that ease with which he seems to be caressing the ball when he is hitting the ball along the ground. Very few batters have the ability to pull, off the front foot that he does. Same thing with Virender Sehwag, Viru was also similar. Opening batter, goes bang-bang and scores 60s-70s, 80s.”
