Virat Kohli extremely mature for his age: Rohit Sharma
There's a lot of mutual respect between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. While Virat admits to being a fan of the classy Mumbai batsman, Rohit feels that the pair needs to shoulder the responsibility of India's batting workload over the next decade.
- mid-day.com
- Updated: March 20, 2012 01:45 PM IST
There's a lot of mutual respect between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma -- the duo that produced a 172-run match-winning stand against Pakistan on Sunday. While Virat admits to being a fan of the classy Mumbai batsman, Rohit feels that the pair needs to shoulder the responsibility of India's batting workload over the next decade.
Rohit and Virat have already shared four hundred-plus partnerships in ODIs. In just 16 innings, they have combined for 1,006 runs with an average stand of 67. On Sunday evening, Virat reminded Rohit that he was a fan of his batting.
"He came up to me and said that he loves batting with me. I am surprised to know that Virat Kohli is a fan of my batting. That is a huge compliment for me," Rohit told MiD DAY yesterday.
"Actually, I enjoyed his batting from the other end. I noticed how he murdered the Pakistani attack with a cool head. He is extremely mature for his age. In a short span, we have already shared a lot of big partnerships. I hope we can put up many more stands and win many more matches for the country. We have the responsibility of carrying India's batting into the future," added the elegant right-handed batsman.
Rohit, who hasn't yet attained the level of consistency like his younger partner, rues the shot that caused his dismissal on Sunday.
"I played a pull shot for a six before (in the knock). So, I thought I could execute it again. Unfortunately, the ball rose on me, and I got out. I want to try and become more consistent. I have got out playing loose shots so many times in my career," he said. Rohit has 1,961 runs from 80 ODIs.
"We should always bat second in Bangladesh. We could have chased even 350 against Pakistan because it's easier to bat under lights in these conditions," he added.
Rohit said the team was missing Yuvraj Singh. "I have been enjoying my bowling a lot. But if Yuvraj was here, Suresh Raina and myself wouldn't need to bowl so much. Once Yuvi is back, we will be an even stronger team," he said.