Mumbai: India opener Rohit Sharma has revealed that former Australia pacer Brett Lee and Proteas pacer Dale Steyn were the two most difficult bowlers he has faced over the years in international cricket.
Ever since making his India debut back in 2007, Rohit has managed to stand tall against pretty much everything and anything thrown towards to him.
However, he feels that he was troubled by Brett Lee’s express pace during his early days while dealing with South Africa speedster Dale Steyn’s swing felt like a ‘nightmare’ to him.
“One bowler is Brett Lee because he didn’t let me sleep the previous night on my first tour to Australia in 2007, as I was thinking how to play this bowler who bowls in excess of 150 kmph,” Rohit said during Star Sports show Cricket Connected on Saturday.
“In 2007, Brett Lee was at his peak. I used to watch him closely and noticed that he was consistently bowling at the speed of around 150-155 kmph. The thought of a youngster like me facing that kind of speed took away my sleep.
I have two favourite bowlers who I never wanted to face, one was Brett Lee and the other was Dale Steyn. I never wanted to face Steyn because playing pace and swing at the same time was a nightmare, it was just unreal,” he added.
Rohit had made his ODI debut in 2007 in the tri-nation series involving Ireland and South Africa.
The 33-year-old is the only player in the world to have three double tons to his name in ODI cricket. He also holds the record for the highest individual score in the 50-over format as he played a knock of 264 runs against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens.
The star opener also lavished praise on current Australia fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood, whom he referred to as being very disciplined with his line and length.
India are currently slated to travel Down Under later this year for a Test series and Rohit believes that he will have to ‘mentally prepare’ himself for the prospect of coming up against Hazlewood.
“Currently, someone whom I don’t want to face in Test cricket would be Josh Hazlewood because he’s disciplined and does not move away from that length,” Rohit said.
“He does not give you loose balls. I have watched him enough to understand that. I know for a fact that if I have to go to Australia to play a Test, then I have to be mentally prepared to be disciplined while facing Josh,” he added.
Under normal circumstances, Rohit would have been in action for the Mumbai Indians in Indian Premier League (IPL), which has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. (UNI)