"That is how I wanted to play" - When an Indian legend acknowledged he would have loved to bat like Rohit Sharma

Team India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma has numerous admirers, who love his aggressive batting. He is among the rare breed of batters in Indian cricket history who excel at playing the pull or the hook stroke. When in form, the 37-year-old always seems to have that little bit of extra time to play his strokes.

Some former cricketers and experts are also big admirers of Rohit. Back in August 2020, during a chat on India Today show 'eInspiration', Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar acknowledged that he would have loved to bat like the current Indian Test and one-day captain. Gavaskar, who was known for his resolute batting and dogged defense, said:

"The way you see Rohit Sharma opening the batting in ODI cricket, the way he is opening the batting in Test cricket, smashing from the first over, that is how I wanted to play."

Gavaskar added that a combination of factors did not allow him to bat in a free-flowing manner during his playing days. The former India captain, however, expressed delight at how the current crop of batters is raising the bar for future generations. He elaborated:

"Circumstances and of course lack of confidence in my ability to do that, did not allow me to do that. But when I see the next generation doing it, I am absolutely over the moon. I love watching the next generation because there you see progress, they are setting the bar higher for the generation that will follow."

"For me the dream was to smash the bowling from the first over, I wasn't able to do that. But when I see a Virender Sehwag go out and do it, the way he did it. When Sachin and Sourav opened the batting, the way they went about in limited overs cricket but Virender Sehwag in Test cricket as well," Gavaskar said during the interaction.

Gavaskar is among the finest opening batters of all time in red-ball cricket. He represented India in 125 Test matches and scored 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12, with 34 hundreds and 45 fifties.

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Rohit Sharma's lean patch with the bat

Looking at Rohit's current form with the bat, he has been struggling to make an impact, especially in Test cricket. The 37-year-old failed to register a single fifty in four innings against Bangladesh in the home series in September last year.

The right-hander managed only one fifty in six innings against New Zealand, a home series India lost 3-0. He struggled in Australia as well. Rohit played five innings during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and managed a mere 31 runs.