New Delhi: India opener Rohit Sharma has joined his skipper Virat Kohli in backing former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s future in India’s limited-overs side.
Having firmly backed Dhoni during his media interactions in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, Rohit, who led the side in the absence of Kohli, expressed his shock at constant questioning of Dhoni’s place in the limited-overs side.
“I am shocked that this question is being raised. If you look at the recent performances, I don’t understand why people are still taking about it. It is not about whether he will be part of the 2019 World Cup, his recent form has been good,” Rohit said.
The Mumbai batsman added that those criticising Dhoni needed to focus on the present given that there is still time for the next 50-over World Cup.
“It is too far and we should focus on what is happening now. He bats at No 6 and does not get to play so many balls as some of us at the top of the order,” Rohit said.
Dhoni scored a quick-fire 39 off 22 balls in the first of the three-match T20 series that helped India reach a challenging score of 180/3 at the end of 20 overs. India whitewashed the Islanders 3-0 in the series, which concluded on Sunday.
Meanwhile, former BCCI chief selector Sandeep Patil stirred a fresh controversy by asserting that Rohit is a better batsman than Kohli in limited-overs cricket.
“Virat Kohli fans might not like it but I have to say Rohit Sharma is currently the better batsman. Virat is definitely a great batsman, no doubt about it. He is India’s best Test batsman but when it comes to limited-overs cricket, Rohit is ahead of him,” Patil said.
Rohit blasted a record third ODI double ton, leading the home side to a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in the absence of regular skipper Kohli, who took a break to tie the knot with Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma.
The Mumbai batsman continued his purple patch in the subsequent three-match T20 International rubber, slamming his second T20 ton off just 35 deliveries (joint fastest) and also became the only Indian to do so.
Both Rohit and Kohli have slammed 11 centuries each in the 50-over format of the game since 2015. However, it is the opener who has taken less innings to reach there.
Rohit has slammed 11 tons in a mere 48 ODIs that he played since 2015, whereas Kohli has done so in 56 matches.
But Kohli leads the race in terms of runs as he has scored 2,822 runs (12 fifties) while Rohit has aggregated 2,672 (11 fifties) during this time.
