"He is the new king in town now" - RCB legend on Rohit Sharma breaking his ODI sixes record 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend Chris Gayle has congratulated India captain Rohit Sharma on overtaking him to become the batter with the second-most sixes in men's ODIs. The remarks came after Rohit smashed 119 runs off 90 balls, including seven sixes, in the second ODI against England in Cuttack to go past Gayle (331) on Sunday, February 9. The 37-year-old is now only behind Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, who has 351 sixes in the 50-over format.

Gayle lauded Rohit for his entertainment over the years, calling him the new king of the town. The 45-year-old said (via India Today):

"Congratulations to Rohit. Sport always needs a new entertainer, and Rohit has been entertaining all these years, just as I have done alongside him. So, he is the new king in town now. Congrats to him, and hopefully, he goes on to hit more sixes."

Notably, Rohit Sharma is the only cricketer with 600-plus sixes in international cricket. The Mumbai batter has 631 sixes in 493 matches across formats. Meanwhile, Gayle and Afridi have 563 and 476 sixes in 483 and 524 games, respectively.

Besides sixes, Rohit achieved multiple records during his hundred. He eclipsed former India captain Rahul Dravid for ODI runs (10,889) and international tons (48).

Rohit Sharma needs 13 runs to reach 11,000 ODI runs

Rohit Sharma is on the verge of completing 11,000 runs in ODIs ahead of the third and final game against England in Ahmedabad, scheduled to be played on Wednesday, February 12.

The opening batter has 10,897 runs in 267 ODIs (259 innings), including three double centuries and 32 tons overall. He can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record by achieving the landmark before 276 innings. Former India captain Virat Kohli remains the fastest, reaching the landmark in just 222 innings.

Notably, only three Indian players have over 11,000 runs in ODIs. They are Tendulkar (18,426), Kohli (13,911*) and Sourav Ganguly (11,363). Interestingly, all three of them have served as India captain.

Rohit Sharma also has the opportunity to hit 50 centuries across formats and join Tendulkar (100) and Kohli (81*) on the elite list among Indian players. With the ICC Champions Trophy set to commence next week, he requires 481 runs to complete 20,000 runs in international cricket.