Rohit Sharma's legacy questioned; India captain accused of being 'no-hit' amid 'stop-start' career: 'Look at Kohli...'
Rohit Sharma, after 18 years of international cricket, remains a fine white-ball batter. But will his legacy just be confined to his batting?
What will Rohit Sharma's legacy be if he is to retire today? Well, it's a question even the most ardent Rohit fans would ask themselves. Rohit Sharma is an ODI behemoth, being the only man with 3 double-centuries and scoring over 10,500 runs. He is a two-time World Cup winner for India, once as captain, and although he may not have been a run-machine like Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli, Rohit will surely go down as one of India's top-10 batters of all time.
Rohit's career can be segregated into two halves. The first half includes the period from 2007 to 2012 when he promised more than he could deliver. Dubbed as one of the country's most talented youngsters, Rohit showed flashes of brilliance but that was it. He got dropped from India's 2011 World Cup squad, which many believe was a wake-up call. Two years later, however, Rohit, given a second wind, was promoted to open the innings by MS Dhoni; and the rest, as they say, is history. Rohit has since never looked back, emerging as one of India's greatest white-ball batters.
But today, as he stands at the crossroads of his career, his legacy as an Indian cricketer is being questioned. Jonathan Norman, editor of the show talkSport Cricket, wondered if Rohit is to retire today, what will he be known for best? Winning the T20 World Cup with India should be right up there, among all his batting exploits. After all, it was under Rohit that India ended their 11 year-long-wait for an ICC trophy. However, Norman debated that a T20 World Cup is not as big as an ODI World Cup, threatening to take away from Rohit's phenomenal career.
"It was only a T20 World Cup," he said. When he was told that India had been losing quite a few ICC tournaments, Jon added, "That's because there are a lot of them. We've had 10 of them. He lost the main one. A World Cup comes every four years. The IPL, I feel , s bigger than the T20 World Cup. The World Cup is… the 50-overs World Cup.
"I find it really interesting because he is a gentleman and a beautiful player to watch The kind of talent that oozes every ball. At the same time, he has achieved huge success – the T20 World Cup win. A real class act. But there was the 'No-hit' thing, his introduction to Test cricket was stop-start. Without a doubt [he has left more runs on the table]. Then they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy; before that the to New Zealand on home soil after 12 years. Some highs, some lows. A little bit in between."
Rohit Sharma gets a supporter
Former English cricketer David Lloyd jumped to Rohit's defense, labelling him a modern-day great. Drawing comparisons with Sourav Ganguly, Bumble, as Lloyd is affectionately called, feels Rohit has ensured the team sticks together as it did during Dada's era.
"He's left a fantastic legacy. I go back to how Ganguly galvanized that team and made them tough. He seems to me a gentle person. In batting, he's got great numbers. He's got three double centuries in ODIs, which transformed the game. So he's got a real good legacy," he said.
"He's got a lot of cricket. When you say the highs and the lows, that's how it is. You're up and down, you win and lose. There are cheers and boos. You get out, you get back on the horse, you do what you do."
Rohit is believed to have played his final Test match for India, and based on reports, the Champions Trophy is likely to be his last in national colours. If that is the case, Norman feels Rohit will leave behind a more 'confusing legacy', as compared to someone like Virat Kohli.
"Look at Virat Kohli. If he calls it a day, you'd say, 'one of the all-time greats who was at the top of his game for 10 years'. And then the last 2 years, diminishing returns and that's it. He will go down as an absolute legend of the game. Won a World Cup in 2011, won another in 2024. That's his legacy. It's kind of a lot more obvious. But Rohit, I find it more confusing," he said.
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