Sanjay Manjrekar believes Virat Kohli is far ahead of Rohit Sharma when it comes to tests.
Reputed cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cannot be compared equally when it comes to tests. Hence, he has urged cricket fans not to keep both the batting legends in the same bracket in the longest format.
Both Sharma and Kohli announced their retirement from the test format last month. Kohli finished his career as the fourth-highest run-scorer for India. He played 123 tests and mustered 9230 runs in 210 innings at an average of 46.85. The former India skipper also hit 31 half-centuries and 30 tons in the longest format.
Sharma, on the other hand, represented the national team in 67 tests, mustering 4301 runs in 116 innings at an average of 40.57. The right-handed batter hammered 12 tons and 18 fifties in the red-ball format. He ended his career as the leading run-getter for India in the history of the ICC World Test Championship.
Sanjay Manjrekar believes fans should not compare Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma equally in tests
The cricketer-turned-commentator Manjrekar shared a video on Instagram where he reckoned there is no comparison between Sharma and Kohli in tests.
“We even have a term for them, RoKo. I can understand it in white-ball cricket; there’s some comparison, and they’re comparable players. When it comes to red-ball cricket, there’s absolutely no comparison between the two”, he said.
The former Indian player also noted how Kohli is far ahead of Sharma when it comes to playing in SENA countries.
“When it comes to SENA countries, the true test of a batter, Virat Kohli has got 12 hundreds. 30 Test 100s as well. Rohit Sharma in SENA countries, just the one against England at Oval 2021. He’s played over 100 innings, just one hundred in SENA countries. And the average now is 40”, he said.
“And I dare say, had he continued playing or had he gone to England, that average would have dropped in the 30s. I can’t be absolutely sure, but that would be my educated guess”, he further added.
Hence, Majrekar urged fans not to compare both of them equally in the red-ball format.
“So, when it comes to Test cricket, please, red-ball cricket, Virat Kohli is in a different league when you compare him with Rohit Sharma. This comparison in red-ball cricket between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and putting them in the same bracket, I say, Roko, stop that,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, both the batting legends will continue to play for India in the ODIs. India’s next ODI campaign will take place in August against Bangladesh. They were recently part of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
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