'Sachin Tendulkar needed 6 World Cups': Ravi Shastri on gulf between Rohit Sharma and Master Blaster after AFG onslaught

Former India coach explained the gulf between Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar after the India captain's record-breaking evening in Delhi on Wednesday.

Dropped from India's home World Cup squad in 2011, Rohit Sharma is fiercely determined to make this opportunity count. After being dismissed for a duck against Australia in India's World Cup 2023 opener, the India captain was a man possessed on Wednesday night at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium as he knocked the stuffing out of Afghanistan en route to a blazing century. Rohit blasted to 131 off 85 balls during which he created a string of records, including most sixes hit in international cricket, completing 1000 runs in World Cup, fastest century by an Indian in World Cup history and becoming the third-highest century maker in ODIs.

Ravi Shastri couldn't stop praising Rohit Sharma after the India captain made Sachin Tendulkar's World Cup record go up in smoke. (PTI/Getty)

But the one milestone knocked off by Rohit that is arguably the biggest of the lot is a 7th World Cup century, going past the one and only Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit not only surpassed Tendulkar; he soared past him, taking 22 innings fewer than the Master Blaster. Tendulkar's six centuries were spread across six World Cups and 19 years, whereas Rohit struck his 7th hundred in 19 innings – five of them coming at the 2019 World Cup alone. This, as Ravi Shastri says, is an outstanding achievement, and the former India coach feels the world will witness a few more centuries from the skipper's bat by the time the tournament concludes.

"Seven hundreds across 8 years in World Cup cricket is a fabulous achievement. It's not easy to have that hunger and come back. Even Sachin Tendulkar needed 6 World Cups. And this guy, in 3 World Cups in a span of 8 years has got 7 centuries. It’s a lot and he is not finished yet. There are a lot of games left in the tournament and as an opening batter, early doze in the tournament with more league matches coming, if you start getting hundreds, then there is every chance you might add two or three," Shastri said while speaking with the host broadcaster after India's 8-wicket hammering of Afghanistan.

Rohit was pretty much unstoppable. He hit 14 fours and a six and made a mockery of the Afghanistan bowlers. No one was spared. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq and even Rashid Khan, everyone received a pasting. Rohit was at his merciless best, bringing back memories of the World Cup four years ago, where he creamed hundreds against Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. Rohit has always possessed the gift of timing and when you add to that his ability to power the ball, as he did yesterday, it's what sets him apart as someone truly extraordinary, reckons Shastri.

"There is one word you associate with Rohit Sharma which you cannot use with too many other players. When in full flight, he is unhurried in whatever he does. Even where there is intent and he is chipping down the track, he is in no hurry. The flow of the bat is the same – against pace and spin. He has got natural timing and power. It's a deadly combination. When you have these two, you make even the biggest grounds in the world look small," he added.