Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir feels limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma doesn’t have the same skills to rotate the strike like Virat Kohli. The Indian captain Virat Kohli is known to rely more on the singles and doubles while building his innings. Kohli is a live wire on the pitch and he always pushes for the extra single.
Furthermore, Kohli has great skills of finding the gaps in the field which helps him consistently rotate the strike. The right-hander also hardly hits the ball in the air even in the limited overs format which makes it harder to dismiss him.
Kohli is not known to take a lot of risks in the beginning of his innings and thus he relies more on getting the singles. Kohli has struck 1116 fours and 121 sixes in his ODI career.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma scores majority of his runs in boundaries. As Rohit opens the batting, he looks to take advantage of the first powerplay in which only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Sharma has the skills to find the boundaries at will as he scored 877 fours and 244 sixes in his illustrious One-Day career.
Gautam Gambhir said while talking to Star Sports Cricket Connected, “There are very few cricketers in the world at this time who can rotate off every ball. That is what Virat Kohli does very well and that is why he is different from the rest.”
“Even Rohit Sharma does not have that quality which Virat Kohli has, to rotate the strike. Rohit Sharma has the ability to hit the big shots but that is why Virat Kohli is more consistent than Rohit Sharma.”
Virat Kohli is fit as a fiddle and he runs like a horse between the wickets. Kohli is quick on his feets and always puts the pressure on the fielder with his express running.
The Indian captain is also a good judger of a run and he can set off at a lightning quick pace. Kohli mostly plays the ball down towards the third man area for his singles when he is in the early stages of his innings.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma can play more attacking shots and he has the skills to change the gear when he goes past the fifty run-mark. Interestingly, Gautam Gambhir had recently stated that Rohit Sharma has an edge over Virat Kohli in limited overs format.
