Indian cricket has been blessed with some of the best players the world has seen. However, there are not many who have been able to cement their place in the role of ‘finisher’-like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. But India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that in the end it is not Dhoni who has been described as a ‘captain’s nightmare’ by Virat Kohli. To the surprise of many, the name Kohli chose to be asked by Ashwin was the name of the team’s current captain Rohit Sharma.
In a chat on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed an intriguing story from the past where he and Kohli had a chat. Ashwin brought up the topic as he explained how dangerous a batsman Rohit is.
“5-6 years ago, Virat Kohli and I had a discussion while Rohit was batting. I don’t remember which match it was. When I saw Rohit batting, I thought, “Where are you even bowling to him? If Rohit is set after 15-20 overs, you wouldn’t know where to bowl to him.
“Virat asked me, “Do you know who is the captain’s nightmare at the death? I asked, “Is that Dhoni?” Kohli said, “No, it’s Rohit.” When I asked him why, he said you don’t know where to bowl,” Ashwin revealed.
It should be noted that Rohit started his India career as a middle-order batsman but was put to open the innings by the then captain MS Dhoni. Since then, Hitman has not looked back and cemented his place in the world as one of the most violent opening beaters.
Continuing the topic, Ashwin explained how difficult it is to bowl to Rohit in the death overs as he has every shot in his arsenal.
“If Rohit Sharma bats at the end of the 16th over in a T20, where do you want to bowl? He has got every shot in the book and once he played an extraordinary knock at the Chinnaswamy stadium that Kohli can never forget, watching it seems. Rohit Sharma has got all the shots and he makes it look so effortless and easy,” said the India veteran.
There has been talk of Rohit demoting himself in the batting order in a bid to resolve India’s No.4 crisis. While KL Rahul has stepped up and taken that role effortlessly, it would be interesting to see if there is a change in strategy during the ODI World Cup that begins next month.
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