Heaping praises on Indian opener in Tests Rohit Sharma, former Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar said the 32-year-old will now become a brand. Akhtar went on to say the classy right-handed batsman is now realising what he is capable of.
Notably, Rohit, who had been batting down the order in Tests for India, has been promoted to open the innings in the ongoing series against South Africa and the Mumbaikar paid dividends with the scores of 176, 127, 14 and 212 at an astonishing average of 132.25 at the new batting position.
“Rohit has arrived in Test cricket and will now become a brand,” Akhtar said in a video posted on his YouTube channel. “I think Rohit Sharma is now realising what he is capable of. He is batting in one-day style only. He is hitting big sixes and scoring freely. He is now taking revenge from his own self.”
“Now, everyone will admit that Rohit Sharma was a great batsman and is a great batsman. He collected runs at will in limited-overs cricket. However, he realized that he was missing out on bigger action – Test cricket,” he added.
Rohit now averages 99.84 at home (after 10-plus innings), edging past Bradman’s average of 98.22. The 32-year-old has now amassed 1, 298 runs in 18 innings in Tests at home which includes six centuries and five half-centuries.
“He now wants to make it up for the time he has lost by not playing Test cricket in the last five years. Had he played Test cricket, he would have easily scored 8000-9000 runs by now,” said Akhtar.
“If he continues playing in the form he is playing, he can easily break Steve Smith’s record and score thousand runs in a Test series,” he added.