Rohit Sharma in action for Indian cricket team during Cricket World Cup 2023© AFP
Rohit Sharma is on the verge of adding a massive record to his already illustrious career as the Indian cricket team skipper can become the first batter from his country to hit 50 sixes in a calendar year. Right now, Rohit has 47 sixes and if he can hit 3 more sixes in the course of the Cricket World Cup 2023, he will be able to achieve the historic first. Overall, West Indies legend Chris Gayle and former South Africa star AB De Villiers are the only cricketers to achieve this feat. De Villiers tops the list with 58 sixes back in 2015 – a record that Rohit can potentially break considering the number of games left.
Meanwhile, Australian legend Ricky Ponting believes a “laid-back” Rohit Sharma is the ideal captain to lead India to their third ODI World Cup title, the second on home soil after the 2011 triumph.
With three convincing wins under their belt, India have made a perfect start to their World Cup campaign. India defeated Australia by six wickets in their tournament opener, before registering emphatic eight and seven-wicket wins over Afghanistan and Pakistan to sit on top of the points table.
“He’s very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does. You can even see that by the way that he plays. He’s a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that’s the way he is both on and off the field,” Ponting told the ICC website.
Rohit took the captaincy reins from Virat Kohli in both the white-ball formats in December 2021.
“But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He’s a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he’s done a great job as leader of India.” The Men In Blue last won the World Cup when the tournament was jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011.
(With PTI inputs)
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