Rohit Sharma does not fit in all-time Indian batting great list: Sanjay Manjrekar

A new debate on Rohit Sharma's legacy in Indian cricket has been triggered by former India batter and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar.

Despite Rohit's incredible career, Manjrekar said on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan that he does not deserve to be considered one of the greatest Indian batsmen of all time.

Rohit's stats undoubtedly show that he has had a successful career. With more than 19,700 international runs, he is currently India's fourth-highest run scorer across all formats.

His greatest contribution has been in ODIs, where he has amassed 11,168 runs, despite his Test career yielding 4301 runs in 67 matches. He has established himself as one of the contemporary titans of white-ball cricket thanks to his achievements in limited-overs cricket, which include three double hundreds in ODIs and his record-breaking 264.

"Rohit Sharma does not fit in the All-Time Indian Batting Great list because we're talking about legends like Gavaskar (Sunil), Tendulkar (Sachin), Dravid (Rahul), and Virat (Kohli). Rohit does not quite make it there," Manjrekar said on DD Sports.

“Rohit didn’t make the impact in tests.”- Sanjay Manjrekar

However, the cricket player-turned-analyst quickly corrected his opinion by praising Rohit's leadership abilities and team-first mentality.

"But if you look at one-day cricket, selflessness, or captainship, then you have to mention Rohit Sharma. Especially after the 2023 World Cup, the love people have for him is on another level. People saw that he was never thinking about himself; he was willing to sacrifice his own interests for the team's advantage. That's his real specialty.

His easy domination in limited overs cricket was always pleasing, almost making 300 runs in one ODI innings. But when you talk of all-time great Indian batters, Test cricket holds more weightage; I don't think he made a big impact in that format," he added.

The 37-year-old has already bid farewell to the Test and T20I formats, now featuring only in ODIs, the IPL, and domestic cricket when available.

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