We’re talking Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Dravid, Kohli’: Manjrekar leaves Rohit out of India’s greats debate

Rohit Sharma left out of India’s greats debate by Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar claims that Rohit Sharma does not belong on India's list of all-time best batters. Even after guiding India to a T20 World Cup and an ICC Champions Trophy, and making three double hundreds in One-Day Internationals, Rohit is still not mentioned in the same context as some of the greatest names in Indian cricket for Manjrekar.

With 19,700 runs, Rohit is India's fourth-highest run scorer in all formats of international cricket. He has 11,168 runs in ODIs and 4,301 runs in 67 Test matches. Although he has a good record in T20I and ODI, Manjrekar believes that his Test career is holding him back.

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However, Manjrekar, who has previously been outspoken in his support of Rohit, couldn't stop praising the Indian skipper for his selfless nature, which sets him apart from the others.

"Rohit Sharma does not fit in 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 the Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan.

"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 Indian Batting Great, Test cricket holds more weightage, I don't think he made a big impact in that format."

Despite making a century on his debut against the West Indies in 2013, Rohit failed to establish himself in the playing XI during the first half of his Test career, which lasted from 2013 to 2018. The second half of his career lasted from 2019 to the end.

Rohit was elevated to the position of opener and succeeded admirably in the 2019 World Cup in which he became the first batter to score five hundreds in a single World Cup.

Rohit eventually achieved his first century away from home in 2021 against England at The Oval. He also helped India defeat Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and England at home. On May 7, he announced his retirement from Test cricket.