New Delhi:Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has termed Rohit Sharma the greatest white-ball cricketer in the world right now, saying the Mumbai batsman has been able to make more impact in shorter formats compared to Virat Kohli, despite Indian captain's stunning statistics.
However, Gambhir believes that Kohli will end up scoring more runs than Rohit. He called Rohit the best white-ball cricketer at the moment, but added that he is not the all-time greatest in the format."For me, white-ball cricket is all about impact. Kohli will end up getting many more runs than Rohit, and Kohli is among the greatest right now, but Rohit has an edge over Kohli because of the impact he has," Gambhir told Sports Tak on Saturday.
"I think he (Rohit) is the best white-ball cricketer in the world right now. He is not the greatest overall, but at the moment, he is the best. He is the only player to have hit three ODI double hundreds, five World Cup hundreds (in one edition) and he is also the only player, who once gets past 100-run mark, people say that he missed a double century," he added.The 2011 World Cup winner also mentioned that it's very difficult to compare Kohli and Rohit,
"It is very difficult to compare both of them. Virat Kohli is unbelievable. His stats prove that. But when your reputation is such that when you get out after a hundred, people say he has missed out on double hundred, that speaks volumes about you,'' he said.
The duo of Kohli and Rohit have been instrumental in India's success in limited overs cricket in the recent past and they have also added a number of impressive records to their resume.
The star opener has scored 9115 runs from 224 ODIs at an average of 49.27 and strike rate of 88.92. He has 29 hundreds and 43 fifties to his name.In T20Is, the 33-year-old has scored 2273 runs from 108 matches at an average of 32.62 and a strike rate of 138.78.
On the other hand, Team India captain Kohli has scored 11867 runs from 248 ODIs at an average of 59.33 and strike rate of 93.25. He has scored 43 centuries and 58 half centuries. Virat has also scored 2794 runs from 82 T20Is at an average of 50.80 and a strike rate of 138.24.(UNI)