Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami hailed his teammate and limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma as a pure batsman. In an Instagram live chat with former pacer Irfan Pathan, Shami said that Rohit is “a package.”

“I feel he is a package — to learn and to show what is cricket. He is a pure batsman. If he is batting, you will get to learn a lot,” said Shami.

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Shami said that bowlers get to learn from bowling to Rohit. “He will hit bowlers, and you get to learn. If you are a batsman, you get to see how much time he has to play a shot. You will also see how to bat in different conditions. He is a next level batsman. He is the best package,” he said.

Pathan said that he feels while watching Rohit play that he is not a cricketer but “a poet.”

“Sometimes, while I am commentating and watching Rohit Sharma play, I feel he is not a cricketer, but a poet. He bats as smooth as butter, like a poem. The bowlers don’t even realise that he is slamming, and he keeps on slamming,” he said.

Rohit is ranked second to Indian captain Virat Kohli in the ODI rankings and broke the record for most runs in a single World Cup last year.

Had everything gone according to plan, Shami would have been busy featuring in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the tournament which was originally scheduled to commence on 29 March has now been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has already infected over 22,00,000 people worldwide while over 1,54,000 people globally have lost their lives after contracting the virus.

In India, there are more than 14,700 infected people already while over 490 have lost their lives after contracting the infection.

There is still no sure shot treatment of the virus and social-distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons to protect oneself from getting infected.

(With inputs from IANS)