‘If you don’t get him out quickly, he goes big’: Kiwi pacer lauds Rohit Sharma

There are more than a few reasons why Rohit Sharma is rated as one of the best batsmen in the modern game. Rohit, at the start of his innings, goes a bit slow and looks slightly nervy. He takes his time and at times plays and misses a few deliveries outside off stump in the beginning, and it puts the bowlers in the false sense of comfort that they can dominate the Indian opener. But if you are unable to get him out, the Indian opener can take the game away from you.

Rohit has all the stylish shots in his arsenal, and he hammers sixes with such ease that it leaves some of the best bowlers puzzled on how to tackle him. The longer Rohit stays in on the crease, the more dangerous he tends to become. This is why he is the only batsman to get three double hundred in the ODIs.

Rohit also has the highest score in ODIs (264) which he scored against Sri Lanka in 2014. The Indian batsman has also scored four T20I centuries - the most by any player.

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This is why New Zealand star pacer Lockie Ferguson includes Rohit Sharma as one of his more dangerous opponents.

In an interview Sportskeeda, Ferguson was asked to name batsmen he finds difficult to bowl at. “Good question, there’s quite a few. Rohit, I’ve found him very challenging,” Ferguson said.

“With him, if you don’t get him out quickly, he tends to go big. He picks up the length very quickly and where my strengths lie, batters play the wrong shot. He’s a world-class batter,” Ferguson added.

The right-arm pacer also went on to include Australia stars Steve Smith and David Warner, alongside India captain Virat Kohli on the list. “Steve Smith, David Warner, Virat Kohli - these guys are world-class for a reason. They’re always tough to bowl at but it feels good when you knock off the top order and have a chance to get to bowl to the middle order or the lower order,” Ferguson said.

He further said that he is a huge fan of Rohit Sharma. “Rohit, I’m a huge fan of him, I think he’s an exceptional batter.”

Meanwhile, in a recent interview, India left-handed batsman Suresh Raina deemed Rohit Sharma as “next MS Dhoni”. “I would say he is the next MS Dhoni for the Indian cricket team,” Raina said on The Super Over Podcast. “I have seen him, he is calm, he likes to listen, he likes to give confidence to the players and on top of that, he likes to lead from the front.