India captain Rohit Sharma has admitted the lack of daddy hundreds from his bat since ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He, however, realizes that a personal approach to be overly aggressive all the time is the reason behind the same.
Advertisement
Sharma, who is the only cricketer in history to score three ODI double-centuries, has crossed the 150-run mark just once since the mega event in England four years ago. Not that Sharma’s numbers are poor in this period, it’s just that a standard set by himself often backfires causing worry to the fans with respect to his current form in the format.
Rohit Sharma Blames ODI Strike Rate Of 101.02 Since 2019 World Cup For Lack Of Daddy Hundreds
Rohit Sharma, who had not only laid a lot of emphasis on playing freely from the word go but also executed it as an opener in the build-up to ICC T20 World Cup 2022, considers it as a reason for not being able to play mammoth innings like before.
Talking about ODIs, it is to be noted that Sharma’s strike rate has increased from 87.95 to 101.02 since the previous World Cup. In this period, he has scored 1,179 runs at an average of 47.16 with the help of three centuries and six half-centuries.
In a latest interview with PTI, Sharma disclosed that he had himself conveyed his latest approach to the team management. He further admitted that he could’ve scored a lot more runs by playing in the usual way but wanted to try something different for the sake of the team even if it came across as a high-risk job.
“Everyone wants to bat long and score those 150s and 170s. I still want to do that, but it is always nice to do something that you have not done. It only adds up to your list of batting abilities. Unless you do it, you won’t know it.”
“I know if I play high-risk shots, I will get out a few times but I didn’t bother. This was communicated by me to the management that this is how I want to play.”
Sharma, who used to speak on similar lines before last year’s World Cup, had registered a disastrous tournament with the bat in hand down under. It is needless to say that fans would be hoping for the skipper to walk the talk at home this time around. Assuming that he isn’t able to pull-off the above mentioned approach, there would be no harm in scoring centuries at a strike rate of 90 than scoring fancy 20s or 30s at more than run-a-ball.
Where Does Rohit Sharma Stands Among All Batters?
Talking about the batters who have played a minimum of 500 balls since the 2019 World Cup, Sharma is at the 16th position in terms of strike rate in ODI cricket.
Five Indian batters namely Hardik Pandya (107.58), Rishabh Pant (107.54), Ishan Kishan (107.43), Shubman Gill (105.33) and Suryakumar Yadav (101.38) have scored at a better pace then Sharma in this period. Unlike Pandya, Pant and Yadav, both Kishan and Gill mostly open the batting like Sharma.
Speaking particularly of openers, overseas names such as Travis Head (113.90), Jos Buttler (109.83) and Jonny Bairstow (104.31) have outperformed Sharma in terms of the strike rate.
In terms of batting average, he is at the 25th position. Pakistan captain Babar Azam tops the chart with an average of 68.58. Sharma’s fellow opener, Gill, is at the second spot with 67.66. Head (63.90), David Miller (63.84) and Steven Smith (59.42) complete the Top Five.
Apart from Gill, Ravindra Jadeja (49.77), KL Rahul (49.30) and Shreyas Iyer (47.36) are the other Indian players to average better than Sharma. Since openers generally have a better average, the likes of Evin Lewis, Temba Bavuma, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Janneman Malan also averages more than Sharma.
