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Can Rohit Sharma surpass Virat Kohli to become the #1 ODI batsman?

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Joseph Gomes

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He is already breathing on Kohli's neck in ratings (has 871 vs Kohli's 899). One good series can make him surpass Kohli. Can Rohit do it? If so, can he sustain it?
 
He might just do it.

Last 3-4 years he is second only to Kohli perhaps.
 
Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman of all time while Rohit is the second greatest ODI opener of all time.

He is definitely in the top 10 ODI batsmen as well. As great as Rohit is, he cannot catch Kohli.
 
Mamoon said:
Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman of all time while Rohit is the second greatest ODI opener of all time.

He is definitely in the top 10 ODI batsmen as well. As great as Rohit is, he cannot catch Kohli.
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Kohli has set some huge mountains to climb so you are right.

But credit to Sharma, he's turned on another gear.
 
Mamoon said:
Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman of all time while Rohit is the second greatest ODI opener of all time.

He is definitely in the top 10 ODI batsmen as well. As great as Rohit is, he cannot catch Kohli.
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Pretty much. Kohli averaged 130+ last year while Rohit averaged 70+. Rohit is easily the second best ODI batsman right now, but still behind Kohli.
 
You mean in terms of ranking and being the no. 1 batsmen in the world on current form. I think he definitely can and it's between the duo as who is no. 1 currently.

If it's about overall career, then No because Rohit's early days weren't all that good and he was too mediocre. Since 2013, he has been phenomenal though.
 
hU1F6XK.jpg

Stats in last 3 years. Kohli has more not outs but other stat are pretty similar.
 
Rohit is not consistent enough! Strangely people criticize or undermine Kohli whenever he fails (someone else outperforms him occasionally!) and sleeps whenever he performs at most times! That is the kind of expectation level & impact Kohli brings in...! Rohit/Dhawan stole the show in Asia cup in Kohli's absense and Pujara in the last test series! But deep down everyone knows that Kohli's consistency levels/match winning abilities are much bigger than the rest (Rohit is often ridiculed for his inconsistency/slow pace at the start of the innings! Dhawan also at times especially in tests! Pujara was terrorized to an extent of dropping from the team! But Kohli never slipped down from the consistent line!)
 
RamLakhan said:
Rohit is not consistent enough! Strangely people criticize or undermine Kohli whenever he fails (someone else outperforms him occasionally!) and sleeps whenever he performs at most times! That is the kind of expectation level & impact Kohli brings in...! Rohit/Dhawan stole the show in Asia cup in Kohli's absense and Pujara in the last test series! But deep down everyone knows that Kohli's consistency levels/match winning abilities are much bigger than the rest (Rohit is often ridiculed for his inconsistency/slow pace at the start of the innings! Dhawan also at times especially in tests! Pujara was terrorized to an extent of dropping from the team! But Kohli never slipped down from the consistent line!)
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Rohit may not be as good as Kohli, but anyone who calls someone that averages nearly 60 as an opener inconsistent is wrong.
 
Sachin136 said:
Rohit may not be as good as Kohli, but anyone who calls someone that averages nearly 60 as an opener inconsistent is wrong.
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Inconsistent when you are comparing with Kohli (that is the level here). If you are talking in general, then I agree, he is more than useful ODI opener for us! And also this consistency has come in the recent years (thankfully!)
 
Rohit and Dhawan are the reason that we are still top 3 ODI side.

Fact is that without Rohit, we can't win consistently, the same way we can't win without Kohli.
 
The great part with Sharma is his ability to score big and really change gears once set, particularly for the current Indian team which has a terrible middle order.

If he throws it at 70-80, then its all dusted there but he continues even after that and make up for weak middle order as well.
 
No .

Kohli is more consistent. Also , since Sharma is playing as opener , there is always a chance he will get a good ball early on.
 
He won't surpass Kohli. Kohli is one in a billion.
 
Nah, there is clear difference in class. Sure, he can get to rank 1 for some time on back of consecutive big scores, but he doesn't have it him to be better than Kohli.
 
If India are to win the WC, Rohit has to perform.

He's more important than Kohli IMO (consistently scores which is expected, but cannot destroy you like Rohit), when he's in the zone there's little you can do to stop the carnage.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
If Rohit is around I will never give up as he can reach higher gear than Kohli.
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This.

Kohli is more reliable and consistent, Rohit has the higher ceiling and can score huge. Always in the game with him out there.
 
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Rohit Sharma at one point in time was regarded as a talent which will never deliver till the masterstroke decision to make him open the innings, his career has never looked back since
 
Savak said:
Rohit Sharma at one point in time was regarded as a talent which will never deliver till the masterstroke decision to make him open the innings, his career has never looked back since
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Dhoni backed him during his years of failure and made him an opener. That's probably why Rohit and Kohli back Dhoni irrespective of what everybody thinks. Loyalty pays.
 
Btw i dont know whats the situation with Kohli's back but if his back problems persist then i am sorry but it might be the start of decline for Kohli.

Back pain or any kind of persistent chronic pain (if its not mild) is worst.
 
SarfiBabarHaris said:
Btw i dont know whats the situation with Kohli's back but if his back problems persist then i am sorry but it might be the start of decline for Kohli.

Back pain or any kind of persistent chronic pain is worst.
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He plays an insane amount of cricket and trains like a maniac off the field. No one has a more rigorous training regimen in history than Jansher Khan and even he was finished at the age of 28 in 1993
 
Savak said:
He plays an insane amount of cricket and trains like a maniac off the field. No one has a more rigorous training regimen in history than Jansher Khan and even he was finished at the age of 28 in 1993
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I heard one main reason of AB's retirement is due to back issues aswell.
 
For those interested here are the stats of the two since 2017.

Virat Kohli

Innings - 41
NO's - 12
Runs - 2665
Ave - 92
SR - 100
100's - 12
50's - 10

Rohit Sharma

Innings - 41
NO's - 8
Runs - 2456
Ave - 74
SR - 100
100's - 12
50's - 8

Virat Kohli Since 2017 at Home

Innings - 16
NO's - 2
Runs - 1081
Ave - 77
SR - 102
100's - 6
50's - 2

Rohit Sharma Since 2017 at Home

Innings - 16
NO's - 3
Runs 1076
Ave - 83
SR - 111
100's - 5
50's - 3

Virat Kohli Since 2017 Away from Home

Innings - 25
NO's - 10
Runs - 1584
Ave - 106
SR - 99
100's - 6
50's - 8

Rohit Sharma Since 2017 Away from Home

Innings - 25
NO's - 5
Runs - 1380
Ave - 69
SR - 92
100's - 7
50's - 5

A note to be made with Sharma's away from home stats are that he played lot more games then Kohli in Asia. The Asia Cup tournament for instance Rohit played whereas Kohli did not play that.
 
I think an away from home average of 106 compared to 69 says it all about the Kohli-Rohit comparisons. Yes an average of 69 is amazing away from home, but when you compare to a beastly average of 106 it looks less amazing. Such is the case with Rohit he is a fantastic player but he has been overshadowed by the greatest batsman of this generation (and in my opinion the best LOI Batsman ever) being in the same team as his. So to answer the question, no Rohit will never overtake Kohli as the greatest One Day Batsman. Rohit will end up as a LOI ATG, but Kohli will end his career as the GOAT in LOI at least.
 
Mamoon said:
Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman of all time while Rohit is the second greatest ODI opener of all time.

He is definitely in the top 10 ODI batsmen as well. As great as Rohit is, he cannot catch Kohli.
Click to expand...
If Rohit leads India to WC glory while outshining Kohli in the process, he will surpass anything Kohli has done in LOIs and surpass him.

That's the only way for him to do it. Short term it's possible for him to overtake Kohli in the rankings.
 
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Aman said:
If Rohit leads India to WC glory while outshining Kohli in the process, he will surpass anything Kohli has done in LOIs and surpass him.

That's the only way for him to do it. Short term it's possible for him to overtake Kohli in the rankings.
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Even if rohit wins the world cup single handedly kohli will remain the better batsman.
Consistency is more important than performance in world cup.
Yuvraj isn't an atg even though he was MOS in world cup.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Even if rohit wins the world cup single handedly kohli will remain the better batsman.
Consistency is more important than performance in world cup.
Yuvraj isn't an atg even though he was MOS in world cup.
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Well, if Rohit wins it and Kohli does little again, yeah he will.


It's unlikely but it's one way it can happen. Kohli's yet to really deliver in WCs.
 
Hitman has hit 17 ODI centuries in 3 years! :yk

Same as King Kohli but in 3 less matches!
 
I still remember in the second edition of IPL where 26 runs were required of last over against mashrafe and he took him for 26 runs
 
If both kohl’s and Rohit tee off simultaneously it will be absolute carnage and very entertaining to watch. No ugly swipes slogs.
 
Joseph Gomes said:
He is already breathing on Kohli's neck in ratings (has 871 vs Kohli's 899). One good series can make him surpass Kohli. Can Rohit do it? If so, can he sustain it?
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Surpass Kohli in what? Rankings? Possible. But not in stature.
 
Mr.Q said:
Surpass Kohli in what? Rankings? Possible. But not in stature.
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If Rohit single handily wins India a WC (destroys teams in the KO matches - Semis and Final) while Kohli flops (hurting his image), he will 100% move ahead of him. It's unlikely but that for me would catapult him well ahead of Kohli who has yet to make his mark in the WC.

WC moments > JAMODI runs on flat wickets.
 
Rankings are close because Kohli missed the Asia Cup and lost points, he'd be threatening Viv's peak rating of 935 had he not skipped that.

As a player, Kohli is simply a step ahead of all his peers. One low score after 23 innings and people are spouting their usual rubbish again. Jamodis, soft runs, blah blah
 
Aman said:
If Rohit single handily wins India a WC (destroys teams in the KO matches - Semis and Final) while Kohli flops (hurting his image), he will 100% move ahead of him. It's unlikely but that for me would catapult him well ahead of Kohli who has yet to make his mark in the WC.

WC moments > JAMODI runs on flat wickets.
Click to expand...

Nobody can singled handedly win a World Cup for any team :P . Only team effort will win you world cups.
 
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Mr.Q said:
Nobody can singled handedly win a World Cup for any team :P . Only team effort will win you world cups.
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That's why I said if.

It's a really small chance but the only way he can make up the gap.
 
Rohit Sharma takes he lead among Indian batters in the World Cup. Great knock it’s been so far.
 
Scored the crucial century in 2015 world cup quarterfinal.

Now in 2019, he's outperformed Kohli so far.
 
I would say Rohit has surpassed Kohli as an ODI batsman. Scores tons in WC where it matters most.
 
Good stuff back in 2010 every expert was expecting Rohit to be next Sachin.. Finally he's proving them right.
 
26th ODI century

Highest scorer in the World Cup

4th century of the World Cup
 
Joseph Gomes said:
You do realize Rohit has double the amount of 140+ scores than Kohli in ODIs, right?
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Surely an opener will have a greater chance of scoring 140+ than a no.3.

This cannot be the criteria of judging the batsmen.

Kohli has had only one failure in this tourney so far. Even though he hasnt dominated any game yet, all of his innings have been important for India.
 
Sidilicious said:
Surely an opener will have a greater chance of scoring 140+ than a no.3.

This cannot be the criteria of judging the batsmen.

Kohli has had only one failure in this tourney so far. Even though he hasnt dominated any game yet, all of his innings have been important for India.
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Alright then. Kohli then has a higher average because of not outs, then average can't surely be the criteria to judge the batsman?

Rohit and Kohli's run per innings is identical since 2013, and Rohit has scored triple the no. of WC hundreds.
 
Sharma was always more talented than Kohli , kohli was more compact and more determined.
 
Justcrazy said:
Sharma was always more talented than Kohli , kohli was more compact and more determined.
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Sorry, disagree. VK is not only more talented but also much smarter. Look at both when they start their innings. VK is almost always at ease looking to score. RS is usually at sea trying to figure out teh bowlers etc during his fist 20-30 odd runs. RS is also more impulsive playing more often in the air while VK rarely does that, playing to the ground. Rohit's approach has gotten him more runs and is more suited for the ODI format but VK is a surely consistent
 
Rohit is definitely overshadowing Kohli in WC's but I'd still say Kohli is better.
 
With Rohit you feel there's a chance. IMO.

With Kohli. Expect 50.

That's the difference/impression in my mind.
 
Sunzi said:
With Rohit you feel there's a chance. IMO.

With Kohli. Expect 50.

That's the difference/impression in my mind.
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Well Kohli won't take the game away from you, if you don't Rohit out early that's the end of the match.
 
fitCricFan said:
Sorry, disagree. VK is not only more talented but also much smarter. Look at both when they start their innings. VK is almost always at ease looking to score. RS is usually at sea trying to figure out teh bowlers etc during his fist 20-30 odd runs. RS is also more impulsive playing more often in the air while VK rarely does that, playing to the ground. Rohit's approach has gotten him more runs and is more suited for the ODI format but VK is a surely consistent
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Exactly, Kohli has more risk-free cricket! He can pick the gaps at ease, play only ground shots (less risk), run between the wickets! The things that is affecting his batting now is the problems in the batting lineup (so he has to change his nature of the game & play some aerial shots desperately!) and also maybe captaincy (at least it may improve after Dhoni-the Ghost moves away as it happened in Tests!) Kohli was so free and even more consistent before he was captain (and India had better middle order like Raina and Dhoni who was not this bad) Rohit was not at all at his level (Rohit developed more consistency of late and he may lose that consistency any time!)
 
Rohit surely deserves to be at #1 spot for some time. I know this is his peak and he won't get such chance later. Too good player to never be at #1 ranking in his whole career.
 
India is so fortunate to have two monster batsmen in the same team at the same time. :abbas1 These two have carried the team this whole tournament.
 
Two of the best batsmen in the world. Unfortunate, that others had been so disappointing that yet we call India's batting weak.
 
Joseph Gomes said:
Well Kohli won't take the game away from you, if you don't Rohit out early that's the end of the match.
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That is true. Rohit is more destructive.

With Kohli... until you get him out the match is not over.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
He’s turned into a monster during his time.

Look at the number of sixes in comparison to the rest.

Hitman :afridi
Click to expand...

Its how he keeps up with his dot ball percentage.

Kholi makes up the lack of six hitting by running 2s and 3s.

Id still say kholi is the better player.

Rohit has been very lucky in this wc with drop catches.
 
How does icc ranking work in worldcup? rohit surely deserves to be at #1 spot after this worldcup atleast for couple of months.
 
Best in the world currently easily followed by Kohli
 
#1. Kohli 886 points
#2. Hitman 868 points

This competition is getting intense.

Its like the rivalry between Wasim and Waqar in 1990s :wasim :waqar
 
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